Kingston upon Thames Crown Court
Kingston upon Thames Crown Court
LocationPenrhyn Road, Kingston upon Thames
Coordinates51°24′21″N 0°18′17″W / 51.4059°N 0.3046°W / 51.4059; -0.3046
Built1997
Architectural style(s)Modernist style
Kingston upon Thames Crown Court is located in Greater London
Kingston upon Thames Crown Court
Shown in London

Kingston upon Thames Crown Court is a Crown Court venue which deals with criminal cases at 6–8 Penrhyn Road, Kingston upon Thames, London.[1]

History

Until the late 1990s, Crown Court hearings were held at the Sessions House in Surbiton.[2] However, as the number of criminal cases in southwest London grew, it became necessary to commission a more substantial courthouse for southwest London. The site selected by the Lord Chancellor's Department in The Bittoms had been the site of a Royal palace in the 13th century,[3][4][5] but was occupied by the Third Kingston Scout Group by the mid-20th century: it was acquired by Surrey County Council for redevelopment in 1966.[6]

Work on the new building started in February 1994.[7] It was designed and built by a joint venture of HBG and Kyle Stewart[8] in the modernist style[9] in brick and glass with stone dressings at a cost of £18 million and was completed in 1997.[10] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of eleven bays facing onto Penrhyn Road with the central five bays projected forward. The central bay featured a recessed full-height glass atrium with a semi-circular revolving door on the ground floor, a modern oriel window and a Royal coat of arms on the first floor and a small pediment above. Internally, the principal rooms were the courtrooms which were equipped with curtains to hide the witnesses where necessary.[11]

Notable cases heard at the court include the trial and conviction of six men, including Abu Izzadeen, Sulayman Keeler and Abdul Rahman Saleem, in 2008, on charges of supporting terrorism[12] and the trial and conviction of Kirk Reid, in 2009, on 28 charges of rape and sexual assault.[13][14]

References

  1. ↑ "Kingston-upon-Thames Crown Court". Gov.UK. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
  2. ↑ "Civil Courts (Enforcement of Judgments)". UK Parliament. 8 May 2006. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  3. ↑ Biden, W. D. (1852). The History and Antiquities of the Ancient and Royal Town of Kingston-upon-Thames. William Lindsey. p. 92.
  4. ↑ Malden, H. E. (1911). "'Kingston-upon-Thames: Introduction and borough', in A History of the County of Surrey". London: British History Online. pp. 487–501. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  5. ↑ Richardson, Rowley W. C. (1888). Surbiton; thirty-two years of local self-government, 1855-1887. Bull and Son. p. 1.
  6. ↑ "Spider shows pack has legs". Surrey Comet. 10 May 2007. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  7. ↑ "Court in the act – Kyle Stewart". 17 February 1994. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  8. ↑ "Kyle Stewart wins in court". Construction News. 27 January 1994. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  9. ↑ Mulcahy, Linda; Rowden, Emma (2019). The Democratic Courthouse: A Modern History of Design, Due Process and Dignity. Taylor and Francis. ISBN 978-0429558689.
  10. ↑ "Kingston Crown Court Architects: Design & Build; HBG Kyle Stewart". Architecture Today. No. 84–93. 1998. p. 26.
  11. ↑ "Fortress or Sanctuary? Enhancing Court Safety by Managing People, Places and Processes" (PDF). Australian Research Council. 1 September 2014. p. 111. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  12. ↑ "Six guilty of terrorism support". BBC News. 17 April 2008. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  13. ↑ "Life term for serial sex attacker". BBC News. 4 June 2009. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  14. ↑ Laville, Sandra (26 March 2009). "Metropolitan police facing crisis after failures in Kirk Reid rape inquiry". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
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