| Blackfriars Crown Court | |
| Coordinates: | 51.5025°N -0.0999°W |
| Location: | Pocock Street, Southwark, London |
| Built: | 1950s |
| Architecture: | Modernist style |
Blackfriars Crown Court was a Crown Court centre which dealt with criminal cases at 1–15 Pocock Street, London SE1.[1] It is located in Southwark a short distance from Blackfriars Road, from which it takes its name.[2]
The site was used by HM Stationery Office from at least the 1920s. The current building was designed in the modernist style, constructed by The Pitcher Construction Company[3] in red brick with stone dressings, and was opened as a new printworks for HM Stationery Office in the 1950s.[4] The design involved a long rectangular frontage facing into Pocock Street.[5]
In the early 1990s, Lord Chancellor's Department decided to close Knightsbridge Crown Court in Hans Crescent[6] and to establish a new crown court at the old printing works.[7] The building was then refurbished, augmented by a semi-circular portico, formed by Doric order columns supporting an entablature, and re-opened as a courthouse in 1993. Internally, the building accommodated nine courtrooms.[8]
In 2013, a judge at the court ruled that a woman should remove her niqāb while giving evidence.[9]
In 2015, Lorraine Barwell, a custody officer at the court, died after being assaulted while escorting a prisoner to a van.[10]
After cases had been relocated to Snaresbrook, Wood Green, Inner London and Kingston upon Thames Crown Courts, depending upon the prosecuting authority, the court closed on 20 December 2019.[11]
In December 2020, a planning application was submitted for a mixed use development, which would see the roof of the building transformed into an "urban forest".[12] In 2021, the building was used to film legal scenes for the Netflix revival of Top Boy.[13]