Blackfriars Crown Court
Blackfriars Crown Court was a crown court at 1–15 Pocock Street, London SE1, which dealt with criminal cases.[1] The building was previously a printworks and refurbished as a court in 1993.[2] It is located in Southwark a short distance from Blackfriars Road, from which it takes its name. The court closed on 20 December 2019; with cases being relocated to Snaresbrook, Wood Green, Inner London and Kingston Crown Courts depending upon the prosecuting authority.
The building was constructed in the post-war period for use as a printworks by HM Stationery Office.[2] There are few references to it as a printworks, and this may be a result of a previous HM Stationery Office building on the same site being included in a Schedule of the Official Secrets Act in 1926.[3]
In 2013, a judge at the court ruled that a woman should remove her niqab while giving evidence.[4] In 2015, Lorraine Barwell, a custody officer at the court, died after being assaulted while escorting a prisoner to a van.[5]
In 2021, after the court closed, it was used to film legal scenes for the Netflix revival of Top Boy.[6]
References
- Blackfriars Crown Court. Gov.UK Retrieved 10 February 2020.
- "Report Blackfriars Crown Court 1-5 Pocock Street London SE1 0BT.pdf" (PDF). Southwark London Borough Council. 21 November 2020. p. 6. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
- "His Majesty's Stationery Office - Government Printing; Etc" (PDF). The London Gazette. 19 October 1926. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
- Wearing niqab should be woman's choice, says Theresa May. Jamie Grierson, The Independent, 17 September 2013. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
- Custody officer dies after attack at Blackfriars Crown Court. BBC News. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
- Aishah Hussain (21 January 2021). "Netflix's Top Boy uses sold off crown court to film legal scenes — as criminal case backlog hits 457,518". Legal Cheek. Retrieved 22 January 2021.