Old Bailey
London
EC4M 7EH
Visitor Information
Architect: E. W. Mountford
Built: 1907
London's Central Criminal Court, universally known as the Old Bailey, has been the capital's principal criminal court for centuries and is probably the most famous in the world. The original Old Bailey courthouse was built in 1539 but the history of the court goes back much further – the site had been occupied by the notorious Newgate Prison from medieval times. Over hundreds of years the building has been periodically remodelled and rebuilt in ways which both reflected and influenced the changing ways trials were carried out and reported.
The current Old Bailey building was built in 1907 and opened by King Edward VII. It was designed in a neo-Baroque style at a cost of £392,277; the exterior is faced in forbidding Portland stone and topped by a 67ft high dome (which mirrors the nearby dome of St Paul's Cathedral) a 12ft gold leaf statue of a ‘lady of justice’ holding a sword in one hand and the scales of justice in the other. Over the main entrance are figures representing fortitude. Inside is a magnificent lobby and monumental staircase with Sicilian marble floors. The building was heavily damaged by bombing in 1941 and rebuilt. A modern extension was added in 1972. Famous trials held here include those of Oscar Wilde, Dr Crippen, William Joyce ('Lord Haw Haw'), the Krays and the Yorkshire Ripper.