The Old Bailey

The security staff is a caricature of rudeness, and the court rules for entry are totalitarian – no entry with a backpack. One young guy in the guard booth in a suit literally ignored me despite my saying excuse me two or three times. The no bag rule seemed to relate to the lack of a bag scanner – how expensive can those be and don’t you think you could spring for one? I just wanted to watch some criminal court, but was unceremoniously turned away.

The Old Bailey is by far one of my favourite city buildings and it holds so much history too. Some of the most high-​profile cases ever have been seen out at this place.

The Old Bailey, or the Central Criminal Court, got it’s name from the nearby street. The current building dates from 1902 – 7. Some of the walls are from the notorious Newgate Prison which stood on the site. On top of the dome stands the figure of Justice. a representation of the Greek goddess Themis.
She is the personification of the divine law of right, which ought to control all human affairs. The sword she holds is the sword of state and the scales of justice represent balance in her decisions.
Among those tried here are William Penn, Titus Oates, Daniel Defoe, Lord George Gordon, Oscar Wilde, Dr. Crippen, J. R. Christie, Peter Sutcliff, William Joyce (Lord Haw-​Haw) and many others. More recently Soham murderer Ian Huntley and millionaire author and politician Jeffrey Archer .
Once upon a time the cells were riddled with disease and inmates were serviced by a stream of prostitutes. Pets and livestock were also allowed inside. Hundreds of men, women and children were deported to the United States and later Australia for petty crimes like pick pocketing.
Be good or you may see the inside as a defendant :) You can go and watchbut not in the old way please!
The area has been the scene of floggings, mutilations, pressings (if a defendant refused to plead) burnings at the stake and hangings. Up to 20 people could be hanged at a time drawing up to 100,000 spectators. A small bribe to the hangman could ensure a quick death with him pulling down on the condemned man to ensure the neck snapped without too much suffering.
Local pubs such as the Magpie and Stump would hire out rooms offering views of the executions. In 1868 public hangings were abolished due to civil unrest.

As a solicitor this is one of my regular haunts. I love the architecture of this building and it has long olde worlde corridors inside. Worth a peek if your in this part of london.

Das Central Criminal Court auch Old Bailey genannt, im Herzen von London ist nur einige hundert Meter von der St. Pauls Cathedrale entfernt.
London Besucher mit etwas Zeit sollten sich einen Besuch dieses wohl ältesten Gerichtsgebäude der Welt (erbaut ca 1673) nicht entgehen lassen.
Allerdings sind einige wichtige Vorschriften zu beachten: Keine Waffen oder scharfe Gegenstände. Keine Kameras, keine Taschen, keine Handys.
Bei größeren Prozessen sollte man frühzeitig ankommen. Unter der Rufnummer 1 206 513 919 kann man sich über aktuelle Fälle informieren.
Den Haupteingang können Besucher nicht benutzen. Es gibt dafür extra einen Seiteneingang der direkt zu den Besucher Galerien führt. Der Eintritt ist frei.
Einige Besonderheiten: wie vor hunderten von Jahren tragen Richter, Staatsanwälte und Verteidiger auch heute noch einen schwarzen Umhang, eine weiße Halsbinde sowie eine weiße Perücke. In jedem der 18 Gerichtssäle gibt einen direkten Abgang in den Keller zu den Zellen. Anders als in Deutschland müssen Verurteile Straftäter ihre Strafe sofort antreten.

It was quite by accident that I ended up in“what is probably the most famous criminal court in the world. London’s central criminal court otherwise universally known as «the Old Bailey»
Built on the location where Newgate Goal once stood, this building is impressive. the security is impressive too I was made to remove everything from my bags, pockets and pass up any bottles of liquid I may of had… In fact I think the security measures were stricter then at Heathrow.
I wasn’t just going on a fluffy tour that can be arranged of this historical court… I was here to see the real deal whether I liked it really or not.
My friend I had been visiting in London was a Met Police officer who had been called in to give key evidence on a big murder case as he had been the first officer at the scene… not knowing what to do with me and needing to be in court ASAP on the Judges orders his superiors reluctantly had to allow and get me permission to sit in on the case, as they couldn“t think of what else to do with me… and they couldn’t very well leave me wandering around the upper levels of the court on my own without supervision could they?
Extremely interesting, your not allowed to make a peep while sitting in on it and your phone is taken off you as well.
I found all the security very intimidating and there were more police on the level of the building we were on then civilians.
If your in here because it’s your court case I’d be very worried indeed! I mean hey it’s not like the good old Newgate days when with any luck you could be shipped off on a permanent holiday to Sydney Australia– (no wonder there were so many crims) Magic!