Court House, St Albans
The Court House, sometimes known as the Old Town Hall, is a 19th-century building in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England. It no longer serves a judicial function. In 2018 the local museum, which had been closed for some years, was rehoused in the building.[1]
Architecture
The two-storey classical building was designed by George Smith and features a portico with Ionic columns over a podium.[2]
History
At the time the building opened the Liberty of St Albans enjoyed the powers of a county.
In 1851 the Bribery Commission held court in the building to investigate the ‘cash for votes’ scandal that resulted in the Borough of St Albans losing its parliamentary representation (the constituency was re-established in an enlarged form in 1885).[3]
In 1874, Hertfordshire was divided into two divisions by Act of Parliament,[4] the eastern part of the county to be the Hertford division and the western part to be known as the Liberty of St Albans Division, each maintaining separate quarter sessions, but being a single commission of the peace. The Act made clear that, despite its name, the St Albans division was not to be deemed a liberty in any future legislation.
Quarter sessions were abolished in 1972.
Conservation
The building is Grade II* listed with Historic England.[2]
References
- "'First colour-printed book' returns to St Albans". BBC. 2018.
- Historic England. "Court House (Town Hall) (Grade II*) (1296135)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
- Mann, Sue (2017). "New SAHAAS publication about St Albans Old Town Hall by Chris Green". Retrieved 2018-06-04.
- Liberty of St Albans Act (37 & 38 Vict. c.45)
