Salisbury Law Courts is a Crown Court venue, which deals with criminal cases, and a County Court venue, which deals with civil cases, in Wilton Road, Salisbury, England. It also accommodates the local magistrates' court.

Salisbury Law Courts
Salisbury Law Courts
LocationWilton Road, Salisbury
Coordinates51°04′24″N 1°48′37″W / 51.0734°N 1.8104°W / 51.0734; -1.8104
Built2009
Built byMansall Construction
ArchitectStride Teglown / Feilden & Mawson
Architectural style(s)Modernist style
Salisbury Law Courts is located in Wiltshire
Salisbury Law Courts
Shown in Wiltshire

History

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Alexandra House in St John's Street

All magistrates' court hearings in Salisbury were originally held in the courtroom in the west wing of Salisbury Guildhall.[1][2] Additional judicial facilities, to accommodate the crown and county courts, were established in Alexandra House in St John's Street in the mid-1980s.[3][4][a] However, as the number of court cases in Salisbury grew, it became necessary to commission a more modern courthouse to accommodate the crown and county courts as well as the magistrates' court. The site selected by the Lord Chancellor's Department, on the north side of Wilton Road, had been occupied by the recreation ground for the Old Manor Hospital which had closed in 2003.[6][7]

Work on the new building started in October 2007.[8] It was designed by Stride Teglown / Feilden & Mawson in the Modernist style, built in buff brick and glass by Mansall Construction at a cost of £18 million, and was officially opened in September 2009.[9][10][11] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage in three sections facing onto Wilton Road. The central section of eleven bays featured a single-storey entrance block, which was projected forward and accessed by a glass sliding doorway at the right-hand end. The first floor was fenestrated by a row of glass panels which were fronted by a slatted structure which was projected forward. The end sections were slightly projected forward and faced entirely with buff brick with no fenestration. A Royal coat of arms was mounted on the right-hand end section at first floor level. At roof level, the building featured prominent modillioned eaves. Internally, the building was laid out to accommodate six courtrooms.[12] The project was awarded first prize under the courts scheme at the BREEAM Awards 2010.[13]

Notable cases have included the trial and conviction of an Afghan man, Lawangeen Abdulrahimzai, in January 2023, for the murder of an aspiring Royal Marine, Thomas Roberts; he had already killed two other men in Serbia.[14][15][16]

Notes

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  1. ^ Alexandra house was designed by Ernest Joseph in the Neo-Georgian style, built with a stucco finish and opened as a NAAFI building in the 1950s.[5]

References

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  1. ^ "'Major Secular Buildings', in Ancient and Historical Monuments in the City of Salisbury". London: British History Online. 1977. pp. 46–59. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  2. ^ "The Oak Court". Salisbury Guildhall. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  3. ^ "Salisbury Combined Court Centre, Courts of Justice, Alexandra House, St John's Street, Salisbury, Wiltshire". National Archives. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  4. ^ "Salisbury Guildhall (Coat of Arms)". House of Commons. 10 January 1990. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  5. ^ "Pevsner Puzzles in Salisbury" (PDF). Salisbury Civic Society. 1 March 2019. p. 20. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  6. ^ "Ordnance Survey Map". 1914. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  7. ^ "Courts building project is put back until 2009". Salisbury Journal. 26 March 2007. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  8. ^ "Work starts on new courts building". Salisbury Journal. 16 October 2007. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  9. ^ "Salisbury law court complex opens". Building Design. 22 June 2009. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  10. ^ "New multi-purpose court is opened". BBC News. 3 September 2009. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  11. ^ "Salisbury Law Courts". Feilden & Mawson. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  12. ^ "Salisbury". Ministry of Justice. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  13. ^ "Salisbury Law Court Steals Prestigious BREEAM Award". BRE Group. 20 April 2010. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  14. ^ "Bournemouth e-scooter row: Man guilty of 'peacemaker' murder". BBC News. 23 January 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  15. ^ "Lawangeen Abdulrahimzai jailed for life for murder of Thomas Roberts in Dorset". The Guardian. 25 January 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  16. ^ "Afghan asylum seeker found guilty of Bournemouth Subway murder after argument over scooter". ITV News. 23 January 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
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