The Stoke-on-Trent Combined Court Centre is a Crown Court venue, which deals with criminal cases, as well as a County Court, which deals with civil cases, in Bethesda Street, Hanley, England.
| Stoke-on-Trent Combined Court Centre | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Entrance to the Stoke-on-Trent Combined Court Centre | |
| Location | Bethesda Street, Hanley |
| Coordinates | 53°01′19″N 2°10′33″W / 53.0220°N 2.1759°W |
| Built | 1991 |
| Architect | Property Services Agency |
| Architectural style(s) | Modernist style |
  Shown in Staffordshire | |
History edit
Until the early 1990s, criminal court hearings were held in the Town Hall in Albion Square, Hanley.[1][2] However, as the number of court cases in the Stoke-on-Trent area grew, it became necessary to commission a more modern courthouse. The site selected by the Lord Chancellor's Department, on the east side of Bethesda Street, had accommodated a series of rows of terraced housing (John Street, Vine Street and Mollart Street) before the area was cleared.[3][4]
The new building was designed by the Property Services Agency in the Modernist style, built in red brick at a cost of £9.5 million,[5] and was officially opened by the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Lane, on 5 December 1991.[6] The design involved an asymmetrical main frontage of 14 bays facing onto Bethesda Street. The central section of eight bays, which was slightly projected forward, featured a portico formed by four columns supporting a flat canopy. On the first floor, above the canopy, there were three round headed windows surmounted by a pediment containing a Royal coat of arms. The left hand section of four bays, the outer bays in the central section, and the right hand section of two bays, were all fenestrated with single, double or triple casement windows on both floors. Internally, the building was laid out to accommodate six courtrooms.[7]
Notable cases included the trial and conviction of the Irish gangster, Thomas Kavanagh, in September 2019, on firearms charges,[8][9][10] and the trial and conviction of Jordan Birch, in November 2019, on a charge of dangerous driving in connection with the death of the rapper, Cadet.[11][12][13]
References edit
- ^ "Hidden Secrets Unveiled" (PDF). City News. 2016. p. 22. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
- ^ "Inside Hanley Town Hall on the market for £500k". Stoke Sentinel. 24 September 2022. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
- ^ "The Spitfire, Bethesda Street, Hanley". Staffordshire Past Track. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
- ^ "Ordnance Survey Map". 1914. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
- ^ "Capital Building Programme". Hansard. 26 January 1996. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
- ^ "Stoke-on-Trent Combined Court Centre: official opening by the Right Honourable the Lord Lane AFC on 5 December 1991". Ministry of Justice Library Catalogue. 17 March 2011. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
- ^ "Kingston upon Hull". Ministry of Justice. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
- ^ "Senior Kinahan figure Thomas 'Bomber' Kavanagh jailed for three years over stun gun found in home". Irish Independent. 2 September 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
- ^ Lally, Conor (3 September 2019). "A life in crime: Thomas 'Bomber' Kavanagh". Irish Times. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
- ^ Breen, Stephen (2019). Fat Freddie: A Gangster's Life – the Bloody Career of Freddie Thompson. Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0241986677.
- ^ Parker, Hayley (31 October 2019). "Man, 23, in court charged with killing rapper Cadet by dangerous driving". Stokesentinel.co.uk. Archived from the original on 1 November 2019. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
- ^ "Cadet: Man, 23, Charged In Court With Killing Rapper By Dangerous Driving". Capital XTRA. Archived from the original on 2 November 2019. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
- ^ Smith, Rob (9 January 2020). "Jailed: Shropshire man drove on wrong side of road at twice the speed limit after drinking six pints of beer before killing rapper in crash". Shropshire Star. Retrieved 5 December 2022.