Kingston Upon Thames Crown Court
History
Until the late 1990s, Crown Court hearings were held at the Sessions House in Surbiton. 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, 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.
Work on the new building started in February 1994. It was designed and built by a joint venture of HBG and Kyle Stewart in the modernist style in brick and glass with stone dressings at a cost of £18 million and was completed in 1997. 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.
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 and the trial and conviction of Kirk Reid, in 2009, on 28 charges of rape and sexual assault.
References
- ^ "Kingston-upon-Thames Crown Court". Gov.UK. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
- ^ "Civil Courts (Enforcement of Judgments)". UK Parliament. 8 May 2006. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
- ^ Biden, W. D. (1852). The History and Antiquities of the Ancient and Royal Town of Kingston-upon-Thames. William Lindsey. p. 92.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Richardson, Rowley W. C. (1888). Surbiton; thirty-two years of local self-government, 1855-1887. Bull and Son. p. 1.
- ^ "Spider shows pack has legs". Surrey Comet. 10 May 2007. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
- ^ "Court in the act – Kyle Stewart". 17 February 1994. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
- ^ "Kyle Stewart wins in court". Construction News. 27 January 1994. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
- ^ Mulcahy, Linda; Rowden, Emma (2019). The Democratic Courthouse: A Modern History of Design, Due Process and Dignity. Taylor and Francis. ISBN 978-0429558689.
- ^ "Kingston Crown Court Architects: Design & Build; HBG Kyle Stewart". Architecture Today. No. 84–93. 1998. p. 26.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Six guilty of terrorism support". BBC News. 17 April 2008. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
- ^ "Life term for serial sex attacker". BBC News. 4 June 2009. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
- ^ Laville, Sandra (26 March 2009). "Metropolitan police facing crisis after failures in Kirk Reid rape inquiry". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 January 2023.