Bow Street Magistrates' Court - Bow Street, London, UK - Wikipedia Entries on Waymarking.com

The court is famous throughout the UK for the many famous and infamous trials that have been held there. Although not currently in use, the cells still exist.

The Bow Street Magistrates' Court building is Grade II listed and its entry, at English Heritage, reads:
"Court and police station. 1879-80 by Sir John Taylor of the Office of Works. Portland stone, slate roof, the Broad Court front of white Suffolk brick with Portland dressings. Dignified, eclectic Graeco-Roman with some slightly Vanbrughian details, rather in the Pennethorne manner. Free standing quadrangular block. 3 storeys, basement and attic storey over 5- bay centrepiece. 8 windows wide, composed as 5 - window centrepiece including advanced flanking entrance-pavilion bays, with 3-window wing either side, splayed one window corner and 8-window return to Broad Court. Channelled ground floor with van and police station entrances in centrepiece pavilions, that to police station to right with flight of steps and stone architrave doorway and segmental pediment on consoles projecting above from ground floor cornice, the van entrance plain under segmental arch, both framed, as are central ground floor windows, by deeply channelled piers which are carried up as quoin piers on the pavilions and are repeated as broader terminal piers to the wings. Recessed sash windows, those on 1st floor in architraves with segmental pediments on consoles but with triangular pediments in the pavilions; eared architraves to 2nd floor and centrepiece attic. The 3 central bays between pavilions have engaged giant Corinthian order to 1st and 2nd floors and panelled piers in the attic, repeated on the pavilion attics. Pseudo-pedestals to ground and 1st floors with apron panels to the wings and fully expressed as balustraded balcony in front of 3 central bays. 2nd floor sill course carried over quoin and terminal piers, bed mould to frieze and bold main cornice over 2nd floor, broken forward over piers and giant order, with balustraded parapets over wings and Vanbrughian belvedere features over terminal piers; similarly handled cornice to centrepiece attic, with acroteria and miniature belvedere features above quoin piers of pavilions and balustraded parapet with projecting dies. Corniced chimney stacks. The splayed corner is similarly treated and contains the Court entrance with straight entablature instead of segmental pediment but otherwise same detail as police station doorway, tripartite 1st floor window under arched recess with Royal Arms in tympanum. Sturdy cast iron area railings with stone pedestal-parapets, surmounted by cast iron lamps with crowned globe lanterns, bridging area flanking the 3 entrances."

Source English Heritage.

The building is currently empty, but:
"Back in April (2011), WAN met with rising stars Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu to celebrate their firm’s recent triumph in the inaugural round of the WAN Interior and Design Awards with the stunning Waterhouse Hotel. As Michael Hammond reported then: “They had just come from the opening of Jason Atherton's highly-anticipated new restaurant, Pollen Street Social and were bursting to tell us about another major new project that they have just won in London but hasn’t been announced yet.”

Formally under wraps for another few months, the project in question has been unofficially named as the redevelopment of the historic Bow Street Magistrates Court in London’s Covent Garden, after several competing architects relayed their opinions on the competition.

So here’s the story. The Bow Street Magistrates Court is set in the heart of London’s eclectic Covent Garden, its Victorian walls privy to the trials of Oscar Wilde, General Pinochet, the Kray Twins and Dr Crippen. The Grade II listed property was presided over by playwright Henry Fielding in 1747 whose Bow Street Runners – a squad of police constables – were renowned for their integrity and effectiveness in enforcing the law on the streets of London.

The property was put up for sale in 2004 and a sale was agreed the following year to developer Edward Holdings, whose intention it was to transform the prestigious building into a boutique hotel. This conversion never materialised and in 2008 the Bow Street Magistrates Court was sold to Austrian developers Christian and Rudolf Ploberger. Plans for the redevelopment include the retention of prison cells and the establishment of a police museum on the site."

Source World Architecture News website.