Portsmouth Courts of Justice
| Portsmouth Courts of Justice | |
|---|---|
 Portsmouth Courts of Justice | |
| Location | Winston Churchill Avenue,Portsmouth |
| Coordinates | 50°47′44″N1°05′26″W/ 50.7955°N 1.0906°W |
| Built | 1982 |
| Architect | Property Services Agency |
| Architectural style(s) | Modernist style |
  Shown in Hampshire | |
Portsmouth Courts of Justiceis aCrown Courtvenue, which deals with criminal cases, and aCounty Courtvenue, which deals with civil cases, in Winston Churchill Avenue,Portsmouth,England.
History
[edit]Until the early 1960s, criminal court hearings in Portsmouth were held in the courtroom inPortsmouth Guildhall.[1][2]This was temporarily resolved when a new law courts building (now referred to as Portsmouth Magistrates' Court) was opened on the east side of a small courtyard off Winston Churchill Avenue in July 1960.[3]However, as the number of court cases in Portsmouth grew, it became necessary to commission a courthouse with dedicated facilities for both Crown Court hearings, which require courtrooms suitable for trial by jury, and for County Court hearings. The site selected by theLord Chancellor's Department,on the west side of the courtyard, had accommodated a series of rows of terraced housing (Swan Street, Russell Street and Upper Swan Street) which had been destroyed by German bombing during theSecond World War.[4][5]
The new building was designed by theProperty Services Agencyin theModernist style,built in red brick at a cost of £7 million,[6]and was opened in 1982.[7][8]The design involved an asymmetrical main frontage facing east onto a small courtyard. It featured a small flight of steps, to the left of centre, leading up to an opening containing three doorways. The building was fenestrated by a rows ofcasement windowson two floors with brickwork above and below. ARoyal coat of arms,formed fromcast iron,was mounted on a brickpedestaljust to the right of the steps. Internally, the building was laid out to accommodate nine courtrooms.[9]
Notable cases include the trial and conviction of David Lace, in June 1984, for robbery at a post office;[10]in September 2009, some 21 years after his death, he was named by police as themurderer of Teresa De Simone.[11][12]Notable cases also included the trial and conviction of Mark Brandford, in February 2021, for the murder of his girlfriend, Kayleigh Dunning.[13][14][15]
References
[edit]- ^Journal of the Statistical Society of London.Vol. 15–16. Statistical Society. 1853. p. 153.
- ^Reports from the Commissioners, Inspectors and Others.Vol. 28. H. M. Stationery Office. 1919. p. 26.
- ^Municipal Journal, Public Works Engineer Contractor's Guide.Vol. 68. 3 June 1960.
Design of the new law courts at Portsmouth – due to be opened next month as a part of the first instalment of the city's civic centre.
- ^"Ordnance Survey Map".1914.Retrieved5 March2023.
- ^"This city centre view is just about recognisable today".Portsmouth News.8 June 2016.Retrieved5 March2023.
- ^"Capital Building Programme".Hansard. 26 January 1996.Retrieved12 March2023.
- ^"Law Courts and Courtrooms 1: The Buildings of the Criminal Law".Historic England. 1 August 2016. p. 16.Retrieved5 March2023.
- ^Mulcahy, Linda; Rowden, Emma (2019).The Democratic Courthouse: A Modern History of Design, Due Process and Dignity.Taylor and Francis.ISBN978-0429558689.
- ^"Portsmouth".Ministry of Justice.Retrieved5 March2023.
- ^Law, Peter (17 September 2009)."David Lace's life was a turbulent one, say police".Southern Daily Echo.Retrieved5 March2023.
- ^"David Lace named as the killer of Teresa De Simone".Southern Daily Echo.17 September 2009.Retrieved5 March2023.
- ^"Police name David Lace as true killer of Teresa De Simone".The Times.17 September 2009.Retrieved5 March2023.
- ^"Kayleigh Dunning: Partner guilty of 'marriage proposal' murder".BBC News.22 February 2021.Retrieved5 March2023.
- ^"Mark Brandford jailed for life with minimum 23 years for murder of fianceé Kayleigh Dunning".Hampshire Live.8 March 2021.Retrieved5 March2023.
- ^"'Jealous' Mark Brandford jailed for 23 years for murder of Kayleigh Dunning ".Portsmouth News.8 March 2021.Retrieved5 March2023.