Burton-upon-Trent Magistrates’ Court
Visited with @DustySensorPhotography and separately with @UrbandonedTeam and @huyt.urb
Burton-upon-Trent Magistrates’ Court was built between 1909 and 1910 and designed by architect, Henry Beck in the English baroque style. The design itself was base off of London’s Old Bailey Courts. The builder, Richard Kershaw, was responsible for its construction after completing the fire station and general post office in the town prior. A lot of pride went into the designing and building of the courts and high-quality Portland stone was selected to represent confidence in how well the town was doing in the early 20th century. Apart from early amendments to the layout of the building, it has remained almost identical since along with a much more recent extension. Inside there are over 50 rooms, 3 court rooms (2 adult and one family court)
The magistrates shut in 2016 due to cutbacks and has been bought by a restoration company who have made little progress with the site. Locals see the historical importance of the courts and hope that the restoration project serves the building well. There have been plenty of ideas shared such as a museum for the town all the way to a Starbucks (which would be a huge waste) but no final decision.
An architectural drawing of the building, drawn in 1910.
The building during 1911.
And finally, the courts today.
It’s safe to say myself and @DustySensorPhotography were a little taken a back stepping inside this one for the first time. We had just had a few fails in Derby and decided to come over and tackle some of the spots in Burton. On maps it appeared we were passing the pin, so we thought we would take a look. I didn’t remember pinning it myself and had no idea what it would be like if we were to succeed. The external of the structure was enough to commit us to finding an entry point and it didn’t take too long, even with it being in plain view of the police station. Once we had found the main courtroom it, I finally realised I knew the spot, but nonetheless had a great few hours seeing the entirety of the it with no issues.
Before any internals, a couple more externals.
The power inside was still fully functional, and parts were so clean even after 5 years of closure that it felt active. The architecture inside didn’t disappoint either.
This beautiful waiting room was the connector for the entire site and was the first thing anyone would have seen when coming in. The main courtroom was on the right-hand side with standard offices to the left.
The public entrance to the old part of the courthouse. The modern section which held the remaining two courts became the main entrance to the site when it was added much later on.
One of the two doorways leading into the main adult courtroom.
Court No.1, completely intact. The detailing in here was incredible from the roof work to the intricate magistrate’s chair.
Inside the dock.
Gorgeous glasswork.
The magistrate’s chair was also designed in the Baroque style taking further influence from the Old Bailey.
The magistrate’s chair at the Old Bailey for comparison.
Closeups.
Outside the main courtroom and toward the public entrance was the old court No.2. This courtroom stopped operation at some point and transitioned to the modern court shown later. No.2 sat underneath the impressive dome but unfortunately the ceiling wasn’t as impressive as you might have imagined. The size and design were still stunning, especially the huge stained-glass window boasting the town’s coat of arms.
A landscape shot for context.
The only remaining areas in the oldest section of the complex was a boardroom/office that followed the same design as the rest of the building and the cells.
Office.
As for cells, we couldn’t find any on both explores. The stairwell inside the dock lead to an underground section which was gated (and flooded) with the classic prison like gates but with no actual holding cells.
After that we ventured over into the much newer section of the site. Two more courtrooms could be found here, and the architectural differences were vast. To begin with, the main entrance.
Another angle (awfully shot).
Above this was the waiting room which had all the chairs in situ and was well lit by the arched windows.
To be continued...
Visited with @DustySensorPhotography and separately with @UrbandonedTeam and @huyt.urb
Burton-upon-Trent Magistrates’ Court was built between 1909 and 1910 and designed by architect, Henry Beck in the English baroque style. The design itself was base off of London’s Old Bailey Courts. The builder, Richard Kershaw, was responsible for its construction after completing the fire station and general post office in the town prior. A lot of pride went into the designing and building of the courts and high-quality Portland stone was selected to represent confidence in how well the town was doing in the early 20th century. Apart from early amendments to the layout of the building, it has remained almost identical since along with a much more recent extension. Inside there are over 50 rooms, 3 court rooms (2 adult and one family court)
The magistrates shut in 2016 due to cutbacks and has been bought by a restoration company who have made little progress with the site. Locals see the historical importance of the courts and hope that the restoration project serves the building well. There have been plenty of ideas shared such as a museum for the town all the way to a Starbucks (which would be a huge waste) but no final decision.
An architectural drawing of the building, drawn in 1910.
The building during 1911.
And finally, the courts today.
It’s safe to say myself and @DustySensorPhotography were a little taken a back stepping inside this one for the first time. We had just had a few fails in Derby and decided to come over and tackle some of the spots in Burton. On maps it appeared we were passing the pin, so we thought we would take a look. I didn’t remember pinning it myself and had no idea what it would be like if we were to succeed. The external of the structure was enough to commit us to finding an entry point and it didn’t take too long, even with it being in plain view of the police station. Once we had found the main courtroom it, I finally realised I knew the spot, but nonetheless had a great few hours seeing the entirety of the it with no issues.
Before any internals, a couple more externals.
The power inside was still fully functional, and parts were so clean even after 5 years of closure that it felt active. The architecture inside didn’t disappoint either.
This beautiful waiting room was the connector for the entire site and was the first thing anyone would have seen when coming in. The main courtroom was on the right-hand side with standard offices to the left.
The public entrance to the old part of the courthouse. The modern section which held the remaining two courts became the main entrance to the site when it was added much later on.
One of the two doorways leading into the main adult courtroom.
Court No.1, completely intact. The detailing in here was incredible from the roof work to the intricate magistrate’s chair.
Inside the dock.
Gorgeous glasswork.
The magistrate’s chair was also designed in the Baroque style taking further influence from the Old Bailey.
The magistrate’s chair at the Old Bailey for comparison.
Closeups.
Outside the main courtroom and toward the public entrance was the old court No.2. This courtroom stopped operation at some point and transitioned to the modern court shown later. No.2 sat underneath the impressive dome but unfortunately the ceiling wasn’t as impressive as you might have imagined. The size and design were still stunning, especially the huge stained-glass window boasting the town’s coat of arms.
A landscape shot for context.
The only remaining areas in the oldest section of the complex was a boardroom/office that followed the same design as the rest of the building and the cells.
Office.
As for cells, we couldn’t find any on both explores. The stairwell inside the dock lead to an underground section which was gated (and flooded) with the classic prison like gates but with no actual holding cells.
After that we ventured over into the much newer section of the site. Two more courtrooms could be found here, and the architectural differences were vast. To begin with, the main entrance.
Another angle (awfully shot).
Above this was the waiting room which had all the chairs in situ and was well lit by the arched windows.
To be continued...
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