Crumlin Road Courthouse

The Crumlin Road Courthouse is a former judicial facility on Crumlin Road in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Crumlin Road Courthouse
Crumlin Road Courthouse
Crumlin Road Courthouse
Location within Northern Ireland
General information
Architectural styleNeoclassical style
AddressCrumlin Road, Belfast
CountryNorthern Ireland
Coordinates54.608°N 5.943°W / 54.608; -5.943
Completed1850
Design and construction
ArchitectCharles Lanyon

History

The building, designed by Charles Lanyon in the Neoclassical style, was completed in 1850.[1] It was built just across the road from the Crumlin Road Gaol which had opened a few years earlier and to which it was connected by an underground passage.[1] The building was originally used as a facility for dispensing justice but, following the implementation of the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898, which established county councils in every county, it also became the meeting place for Antrim County Council.[2] The county council moved to County Hall in Ballymena in 1970.[3]

Pending the opening of the Laganside Courts Complex,[4] judicial hearings were temporarily transferred to other courts to allow the Crumlin Road Courthouse to close in June 1998.[5] It was sold to local investor Barry Gilligan in September 2003 for £1. His plans for the courthouse included redeveloping it as a tourist attraction and a hotel.[6] On 12 March 2009, the courthouse suffered significant damage in a fire[7] and a series of further fires in August 2009 caused further serious damage to the structure.[8] The building was damaged once again by a second large fire on 1 June 2020.[9]

After the former Crumlin Road Gaol building directly across the road became a visitor attraction in November 2012,[10] there was extensive discussion about as to how the area could be regenerated.[11][12] In March 2017, Lawrence Kenwright, from the Signature Living Group, bought the courthouse site and announced plans to develop the listed building into a hotel.[13][14]

References
  1. "Crumlin Road Courthouse". Ulster architectural heritage. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  2. "No. 2357". The Belfast Gazette. 29 April 1966. p. 155.
  3. "County hall, Galgorm Road, Ballymena, County Antrim: the Chichester Hall with the council suite to the left". Royal Institute of British Architects. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
  4. "Famous courthouse closes its doors". Belfast Telegraph. 17 June 1998. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  5. N I Courts Service Archived 2009-03-16 at the Wayback Machine
  6. McCann, Nuala (2006-09-12). "UK | Northern Ireland | Courthouse hotel evokes ghosts of past". BBC News. Retrieved 2019-11-02.
  7. "UK | Northern Ireland | Court fire 'started deliberately'". BBC News. 2009-03-12. Retrieved 2019-11-02.
  8. "Two blazes in two days leave courthouse a blackened shell". Belfast Telegraph. 17 August 2009. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  9. "UK | Northern Ireland | Crumlin Road courthouse: Police say fire was deliberate". BBC News. 2020-01-06. Retrieved 2020-01-06.
  10. "Crumlin Road Gaol". Visit Belfast. Archived from the original on 18 August 2017. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  11. "Draft Crumlin area plan" (PDF). Belfast City Countil. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  12. "Belfast Masterplan 2004". Belfast City Council. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  13. "Crumlin Road courthouse to be converted into hotel". BBC News. 14 March 2017. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  14. "Belfast's Crumlin Road court to become hotel". Belfast Telegraph. 8 March 2017. Retrieved 4 August 2017.

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