Royal Courts of Justice; The Law Courts (The Royal Courts of Justice) London, England

Listed Building Data

Royal Courts of Justice; The Law Courts (The Royal Courts of Justice) has been designated a Grade I listed building in England with the following information, which has been imported from the National Heritage List for England. Please note that not all available data may be shown here, minor errors and/or formatting may have occurred during transcription, and some information may have become outdated since listing.

List Entry ID: 1264258
Listing Type: listed building
Grade: I
Date Listed: 5 February 1970
Name: ROYAL COURTS OF JUSTICE THE LAW COURTS (THE ROYAL COURTS OF JUSTICE)
Location: ROYAL COURTS OF JUSTICE, STRAND WC2THE LAW COURTS (THE ROYAL COURTS OF JUSTICE), CAREY STREET WC2
District: City of Westminster
County: Greater London Authority
Grid Reference: TQ 31003 81157
Easting: 531003.0000
Northing: 181157.0000

Description

Law Courts. 1866 competition,won by G E Street finally in 1868, work only begun, to modified design,in 1874 when Philip Webb was Street's chief assistant and completed 1882 under final supervision of Street's son A E Street and Arthur Blomfield. Portland stone for principal Strand and west elevations, red brick back with lavish stone dressings, banding and chequerwork to east and north elevations, slate roofs.

Listed Building Description

CITY OF WESTMINSTER STRAND, WC2

TQ 3081 SE and 3181 SW 60/7; 61/8 The Law Courts (The 5.2.70 Royal Courts of Justice) G.V. I Law Courts. 1866 competition,won by G E Street finally in 1868, work only begun, to modified design,in 1874 when Philip Webb was Street's chief assistant and completed 1882 under final supervision of Street's son A E Street and Arthur Blomfield. Portland stone for principal Strand and west elevations, red brick back with lavish stone dressings, banding and chequerwork to east and north elevations, slate roofs. Serious, consistent and "rational" application of C13 English Gothic style, fulfilling a highly demanding brief for a monumental programme and developing a varied, but carefully balanced, composition to be seen in perspective with highly inventive detailing, despite the vast scale and a certain lack of coherence in consequence. Mainly 3 storeys. Controlled asymmetry with 6-bay east wing terminating just before end in lofty clock tower and a 15-bay,virtually symmetrical composition about the major axis of the main entrance and Salle des Pas Perdus of the Great Hall. The hall gable end and great window are set back behind portal archway recessed in turn between polygonal towers with slated spires. Double or triplet-shafted windows in link-ranges and in gabled bays with tourelles-bartizans. Triple arched gateway into east court acts as link to east wing. The Great. Hall gable contains a rose and is flanked by corner turrets with lucarne and gallet stone spires. The Great Hall ridge is crowned by a fllche. The east and north brick and stone elevations have more of the lively inventiveness and love of pattern of Street's earlier, smaller scale works. The lofty brick and stone north east tower was built while Philip Webb was Street's principal assistant. The major internal feature is the vast Salle des Pas Perdus, rib-vaulted and shafted with blind arcading, with rich stiff leaf carving to doorways and diapering; lancets or grouped lancets with geometrical tracery; spiral staircases lead off with courtrooms ranged on either side and to the north. Fine quality of execution throughout despite the size of the building. In the Hall a very dignified seated statue commemorating Street, by H H Armstead, was set up in 1886. Victorian Architecture; R Dixon and S Muthesius. London Volume I; N Pevsner.

Listing NGR: TQ3100381157