| Kingston upon Thames Crown Court | |
| Coordinates: | 51.4059°N -0.3046°W |
| Location: | Penrhyn Road, Kingston upon Thames |
| Built: | 1997 |
| Architecture: | Modernist style |
Kingston upon Thames Crown Court is a Crown Court venue which deals with criminal cases at 6–8 Penrhyn Road, Kingston upon Thames, London.[1]
Until the late 1990s, Crown Court hearings were held at the Sessions House in Surbiton.[2] However, as the number of criminal cases in southwest London grew, it became necessary to commission a more substantial courthouse for southwest London. The site selected by the Lord Chancellor's Department in The Bittoms had been the site of a Royal palace in the 13th century,[3] [4] [5] but was occupied by the Third Kingston Scout Group by the mid-20th century: it was acquired by Surrey County Council for redevelopment in 1966.[6]
Work on the new building started in February 1994.[7] It was designed and built by a joint venture of HBG and Kyle Stewart[8] in the modernist style[9] in brick and glass with stone dressings at a cost of £18 million and was completed in 1997.[10] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of eleven bays facing onto Penrhyn Road with the central five bays projected forward. The central bay featured a recessed full-height glass atrium with a semi-circular revolving door on the ground floor, a modern oriel window and a Royal coat of arms on the first floor and a small pediment above. Internally, the principal rooms were the courtrooms which were equipped with curtains to hide the witnesses where necessary.[11]
Notable cases heard at the court include the trial and conviction of six men, including Abu Izzadeen, Sulayman Keeler and Abdul Rahman Saleem, in 2008, on charges of supporting terrorism[12] and the trial and conviction of Kirk Reid, in 2009, on 28 charges of rape and sexual assault.[13] [14]