| Reading Crown Court | |
| Coordinates: | 51.4562°N -0.967°W |
| Location: | Reading, Berkshire |
| Built: | 1861 |
| Architect: | John Clacy |
| Architecture: | Baroque revival style |
| Designation1: | Grade II Listed Building |
| Designation1 Date: | 14 December 1978 |
| Designation1 Number: | 1113476 |
Reading Crown Court is a judicial facility in Reading, Berkshire. It is a Grade II listed building.
The building, which was designed by the county surveyor, John Clacy, in the Baroque revival style and built at a cost of £21,644, was completed in 1861.[1] It became the main venue for the assizes from 1867 when Abingdon County Hall ceded that role to Reading.[2] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with seven bays facing onto The Forbury with the end bays projected forward; the central section of five bays featured a three-bay portico with Doric order columns; there were round headed sash windows flanked by Ionic order columns on the first floor. The complex included the county police station which was built behind the courthouse.[3]
Following the implementation of the Local Government Act 1888, which established county councils in every county, it also became the meeting place for Berkshire County Council.[4] The administrative staff and committee rooms of the county council were accommodated in the Shire Hall next door.[5] Following the implementation of the Courts Act 1971, the former assizes court was re-designated Reading Crown Court.[6] In 1981 the county council moved to a new Shire Hall at Shinfield Park and subsequently it was used solely by the Crown Court.[5]
Important cases heard by Reading Crown Court included the trial and conviction of Leslie Bailey for the murder of Mark Tildesley in December 1992[7] and the trial and conviction of Llewellyn Adams, Indrit Krasniqi, Michael Johnson, Jamaile Morally, Joshua Morally and Adrian Thomas for the murder of Mary-Ann Leneghan in March 2012.[8] It was also the venue for the Munir Hussain case, in which a businessman, Munir Hussain, was tried and convicted of assaulting a burglar, Walid Salem, in December 2009.[9]
The initial stages of the trial of Jed Foster for the killing of Andrew Harper were also heard at Reading Crown Court in August 2019,[10] but on 19 September the Crown Prosecution Service said that they had discontinued the case against him.[11] [12] [13]