Central Criminal Court of England and Wales
Old Bailey
The Old Bailey in 2004
51°30′57″N0°6′7″W / 51.51583°N 0.10194°W /51.51583; -0.10194
Jurisdiction	England and Wales
Location	LondonEC4
Coordinates	51°30′57″N0°6′7″W / 51.51583°N 0.10194°W /51.51583; -0.10194
Recorder of London
Currently	Mark Lucraft
Since	14 April 2020

TheCentral Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as theOld Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminalcourt building in central London, one of several that house theCrown Court ofEngland and Wales. The street outside follows the route ofthe ancient wall around theCity of London, which was part of the fortification'sbailey, hence themetonymic name.

The court has been housed in a succession of buildings on the street since the sixteenth century, when it was attached to the medievalNewgate Prison. The current main building block was completed in 1902, designed byEdward William Mountford; its monumental architecture is recognised and protected as aGrade II* listed building.^[1] An extension, South Block, was constructed in 1972, over the former site of Newgate Prison which had been demolished in 1904.

The Crown Court sitting in the Old Bailey hears majorcriminal cases from withinGreater London. In exceptional cases, trials may be referred to the Old Bailey from other parts of England and Wales. As with most courts in England and Wales, trials at the Old Bailey are open to the public, although they are subject to stringent security procedures.

A small Sessions House at the time (in black at centre near red line), the court is shown in Christopher and John Greenwood's 8 inch-to-mile map published in 1827 from an 1830 republication.

The court originated as thesessions house of theLord Mayor andSheriffs of the City of London and ofMiddlesex. In addition to sessions court, the Old Bailey also held trials, similar to the travellingCourts of Assize held in other parts of England and Wales.^[2] The original medieval court is first mentioned in 1585; it was next to the olderNewgate Prison, and seems to have grown out of the endowment to improve the gaol and rooms for the sheriffs, made possible by a gift from 15th-century Lord MayorRichard Whittington. It was destroyed in theGreat Fire of London in 1666 and rebuilt in 1674, with the court open to the weather to prevent the spread of disease.^[3]

The building was re-fronted in 1734, so as to enclose the court and reduce the influence of spectators: this led to outbreaks oftyphus, notably in 1750 when 60 people died, including the Lord Mayor and two judges. It was rebuilt again in 1774 and a second courtroom was added in 1824. Over 100,000 criminal trials were carried out at the Old Bailey between 1674 and 1834.^[4] In 1834, it was renamed from the Assize Court for London to the Central Criminal Court.^[5]

The court was envisaged as that where only criminals accused of crimes committed in the City and Middlesex were tried. However, in 1856, there was public revulsion at complaints sent to police against doctorWilliam Palmer that he was a poisoner and murderer. This led to fears that he could not receive a fair trial in his nativeStaffordshire. TheCentral Criminal Court Act 1856 was passed to enable his trial, and others with a public profile, to be held at the Old Bailey.^[6] In Londoncant it was calledThe Gate, an abbreviation of Newgate.^[7]

The Old Bailey adjoined Newgate Prison until the jail's 1902 closure.Hangings were a public spectacle in the street outside until May 1868. The condemned would be led along Dead Man's Walk between the buildings, and many were buried in the walk itself. Large, rowdy crowds sometimes gathered and pelted the condemned with rotten fruit and vegetables and stones.^[8] Some sources claim that, after 28 people were crushed to death when a pie-seller's stall overturned, a tunnel was made between the prison andSt Sepulchre's church opposite the crossroads, to allow the chaplain to minister to the condemned without having to force his way through crowds;^[8] but there are no known primary sources or photographic evidence that indicate that it actually existed.^[9]

The present building dates from 1902 and was officially opened by KingEdward VII on 27 February 1907. It was designed byE. W. Mountford and co-occupies the site of the demolished prison. Above the main entrance is inscribed the admonition: "Defend the Children of the Poor & Punish the Wrongdoer".^[10]

On the dome above the court stands the court's symbolic gilt bronze statue ofLady Justice by sculptorF. W. Pomeroy (made 1905–1906).^[11] She holds a sword in her right hand and the scales of justice in her left. The statue is popularly supposed to showblind Justice, but the figure is not blindfolded: the courthouse brochures explain that this is because Lady Justice was originally not blindfolded, and because her "maidenly form" is supposed to guarantee her impartiality which renders the blindfold redundant.^[12]

Duringthe Blitz of the Second World War, the Old Bailey was bombed and severely damaged, but reconstruction work restored most of it in the early 1950s. In 1952, the restored interior of the Grand or Great Hall of the Central Criminal Court was once again open. This hall (underneath the dome) is decorated with paintings commemorating the Blitz, as well as quasi-historical scenes ofSt Paul's Cathedral with nobles outside. Running around the entire hall are a series of axioms, some of biblical reference. They read:^[13]

"The law of the wise is a fountain of life"
"The welfare of the people is supreme"
"Right lives by law and law subsists by power"
"Poise the cause in justice's equal scales"
"Moses gave unto the people the laws of God"
"London shall have all its ancient rights"

Between 1968 and 1972, a new South Block, designed by the architectsDonald McMorran and George Whitby, was built to accommodate more modern courts.^[14]

In 1973, theBelfast Brigade of theProvisional IRAexploded a car bomb in the street outside, killing one and injuring 200 people. A shard of glass is preserved as a reminder, embedded in the wall at the top of the main stairs.^[8]

The hall (and its floor) was decorated with many busts and statues, chiefly of British monarchs, but also of legal figures, and those who achieved renown by campaigning for improvement in prison conditions from 1700 to 1900. This part of the building also housed thestenographers' offices until the stenographers were replaced by technology in March 2012.^[15] On 7 February 2024, around 1,500 people were forced to evacuate the building following a fire and reports of five separate explosions at the rear of the Central Criminal Court. Defendants on remand were returned to prison and juries were sent home.^[16]

Until 2017, the court manager was known by the title of theSecondary of the City of London, an ancient title of a City officer.^[17]His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service manages the courts and administers the trials but the building itself is owned by theCity of London Corporation, which finances the maintenance and running of the building and the staff costs out of their own resources.^[8]

All judges sitting in the Old Bailey areaddressed as "My Lord" or "My Lady", whether they areHigh Court,circuit judges orrecorders. TheLord Mayor andaldermen of the City of London are entitled to sit on the judges' bench during a hearing but do not participate in hearings. Where a ceremonial tradition is followed, a judge, sitting solo, will sit off-centre in case the Lord Mayor should decide to come in, in which case they would take the centre chair. The most seniorpermanent judge of the Central Criminal Court has the title ofRecorder of London, and their deputy has the title ofCommon Serjeant of London. The position of "Recorder of London" is distinct from that of arecorder, which is a part-time judicial office, holders of which sit part-time as judges of the Crown Court or County Court. The recent Recorders of London have been:

• 1975–1990 – SirJames Miskin^[18]
• 1990–1998 – SirLawrence Verney
• 1998–2004 –Michael Hyam
• 2004–2013 –Peter Beaumont
• 2013–2015 –Brian Barker
• 2015–2019 –Nicholas Hilliard^[19]
• 2020–present –Mark Lucraft

The court house originated as part of theCity of London's borough judicial system, and it remains so. The Recorder and the Common Serjeant are city officers, and the Recorder is a member of the Common Council because he is also a member of theCourt of Aldermen. The city's sheriffs and the Lord Mayor are justices there, but their jurisdiction is now nominal. The sheriffs are resident with the senior judges in the complex. Court 1 has benches set aside for the committee ofCity Bridge Foundation, the owner of the building.^[20]

The Old Bailey has been mentioned and featured in numerous fictional works including film, video games and literature. Notable examples includeV for Vendetta and itsfilm adaptation, in which thetitle character demolishes it to gain the public's attention,^[21] andJustice League and itsdirector's cut, in whichWonder Woman foils a terrorist bomb plot.^[22] InAgatha Christie's play,Witness for the Prosecution, the murder trial of Leonard Vole is held at the Old Bailey.^[23] It is also a central location inThe Great Ace Attorney: Adventures and its sequelThe Great Ace Attorney 2: Resolve, where many of the trials in the games' plot take place.^[24]Rumpole of the Bailey is a British television series created and written by the British writer and barristerJohn Mortimer, in which Horace Rumpole, an elderly London barrister, defends a broad variety of clients, often underdogs.^[25] InThe Pirates of Penzance, upon defeating the police, the pirates declare that "No pirate band will take its stand / At the Central Criminal Court."^[26]

• 
  The Grand Hall
• 
  The Dome Ceiling
• 
  Looking at the dock in Court No 1
• 
  Looking from the dock in Court No 1

• Bow Street Magistrates' Court
• City of Westminster Magistrates' Court
• Courts of England and Wales
• Royal Courts of Justice

Wikimedia Commons has media related toCentral Criminal Court.

• HM Courts Service –current cases listed at this court
• Central Criminal Court – City of London, includes visitor information
• The Proceedings of the Old Bailey London 1674 to 1913 – Archive of case details
• Old Bailey photographs at 100 years old – BBC
• From Rumpole to the Ripper, Crippen to the Krays: The Old Bailey turns 100,Duncan Campbell,The Guardian, 27 February 2007
• View from Google Maps
• Copy of Sunday Times article including rare picture of Grand Hall
• Voices from the Old Bailey – BBC Radio 4 dramatisations of 18th century cases

• Old Bailey
• Local government buildings in London
• Crown Court buildings
• Edwardian architecture in London
• Grade II* listed buildings in the City of London
• Grade II* listed government buildings
• Government buildings with domes
• Domes in the United Kingdom
• Court buildings in London
• 1907 establishments in England

• Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas
• CS1: unfit URL
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use British English from May 2013
• Use dmy dates from November 2022
• Infobox mapframe without OSM relation ID on Wikidata
• Coordinates on Wikidata
• Commons category link from Wikidata
• Pages using the Kartographer extension