Leeds Combined Court Centre Explained

Leeds Combined Court Centre
Coordinates:	53.8003°N -1.5519°W
Location:	Oxford Row, Leeds
Built:	1982
Architect:	Property Services Agency
Architecture:	Modern style

Leeds Combined Court Centre is a Crown Court venue, which deals with criminal cases, and a County Court venue, which deals with civil cases, in Oxford Row, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is adjacent to Leeds Magistrates Courts.

History

Until the 1970s, the assizes and quarter sessions in Leeds were held in Leeds Town Hall.^[1] However, as the number of court cases in Leeds grew, it became necessary to commission a dedicated courthouse, both for criminal and civil matters. The site selected by the Lord Chancellor's Department was based around a narrow lane known as "Oxford Street" which branched off Westgate to the north.^[2]

The Leeds Combined Court Centre was designed by the Property Services Agency in the modern style, built in red brick at a cost of £9.7 million,^[3] and was completed in 1982.^{[4] [5] [6]} The design of the complex involved an asymmetrical main frontage of eight bays facing onto Westgate. The main entrance was established in the Oxford Row, and the Westgate frontage was fenestrated by a distinctive row of 16 modern oriel windows on the second floor. The complex, which was intended to accommodate the Crown Court (for criminal cases) and the County Court (for civil cases), was built with five courtrooms and was subsequently supplemented by additional accommodation at Coverdale House in East Parade providing another seven courtrooms.^[7]

Notable cases

As Leeds Assizes

Notable cases heard at the court have been:

• Zsiga Pankotia – found guilty of murder, becoming the last man to be hanged at Armley Gaol, in 1961.^[8]

As Leeds Crown Court

• John Poulson – found guilty of fraud and sentenced to five years imprisonment (later increased to seven years) in 1974.^[9]
• Stefan Kiszko – found guilty of the murder of Lesley Molseed and wrongfully sentenced to life imprisonment in 1976.^[10]
• Gary Hart – found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving in connection with the Selby rail crash and sentenced to five years imprisonment in 2001.^[11]
• Nick Griffin – acquitted of incitement to racial hatred in 2006.^[12]
• Wearside Jack – The Yorkshire Ripper hoaxer, found guilty of perverting the course of justice and sentenced to eight years imprisonment in 2006.^[13]
• John Darwin – canoeist, who faked his own death in a life insurance fraud, found guilty and sentenced to six years imprisonment in 2008.^[14]
• Karen Matthews and Michael Donovan – found guilty of the kidnapping of Shannon Matthews, child neglect and perverting the course of justice and sentenced to eight years imprisonment in 2008.^[15]
• Will Cornick – found guilty of the murder of his teacher, Ann Maguire, and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2014.^[16]
• Colin Gregg – heir to Greggs bakery chain and former headmaster, found guilty of sexually abusing four boys and sentenced to 13½ years imprisonment (later reduced by the Court of Appeal to 8½ years) in 2017.^{[17] [18] [19]}

External links

• Court information

Notes and References

1. Book: Black, Barrington. Both Sides of the Bench. 70. 2015. Waterside Press. 978-1909976313.
2. Web site: Ordnance Survey Map. 1914. 15 January 2023.
3. Web site: Capital Building Programme. 26 January 1996. Hansard. 12 March 2023.
4. Web site: Law Courts and Courtrooms 1: The Buildings of the Criminal Law. 16. Historic England. 1 August 2016. 4 March 2023.
5. Book: The Democratic Courthouse: A Modern History of Design, Due Process and Dignity. Linda. Mulcahy. Emma. Rowden. 2019. Taylor and Francis. 978-0429558689.
6. Book: Yorkshire West Riding: Leeds, Bradford and the North. 78. Peter E. . Leach. Nikolaus . Pevsner. John. Minnis . 2009. Yale University Press. 978-0300126655.
7. Web site: Leeds County Court. The New Law Journal. 18 September 2009. vii. 15 January 2023.
8. Web site: Pankotai, Zsiga: at Leeds on 26 April 1961 convicted of murder; sentenced to death. National Archives. 15 January 2023.
9. News: 1974: Architect jailed over corruption . BBC News . 15 March 1990 . 15 January 2023.
10. News: Injections blamed as Stefan is found guilty. 15 November 2007. Manchester Evening News. 15 January 2023.
11. News: Gary Hart in court. The Guardian. 28 November 2001. 15 January 2023.
12. News: BNP leader cleared of race hate charges. 10 November 2006. The Guardian. 15 January 2023.
13. News: Man admits 'Ripper' hoax charges. BBC News. 20 March 2006. 15 January 2023.
14. Web site: Missing canoeist admits deception. 13 March 2008. BBC News. 15 January 2023.
15. News: Shannon Matthews' mother guilty of kidnapping own daughter. The Guardian. 4 December 2008. 15 January 2023.
16. News: Pidd. Helen. Will Cornick: a model student who planned murder for three years. The Guardian. 3 November 2014. 15 January 2023.
17. Web site: Greggs heir jailed for abusing boys. 30 March 2017. BBC News. 15 January 2023.
18. Web site: Colin Gregg sentenced to 13-and-a-half years' prison RECAP: Former teacher is jailed for abusing boys. Keiran. Southern. 30 March 2017. Newcastle Chronicle. 15 January 2023.
19. Web site: Greggs heir has sex abuse sentence cut. 19 December 2017. BBC News. 15 January 2023.