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For 170 years, Hicks Hall was used to hear cases in the county of Middlesex. It is mentioned in many contemporary reports, including [[Samuel Pepys]]'s diary. On 9 October 1660, a [[grand jury]] was convened here to try 29 of the [[List of regicides of Charles I|men who had signed the death warrant]] of [[Charles I of England|Charles I]] (although proceedings then continued at the [[Old Bailey]] Sessions House). In 1679, [[Titus Oates]] gave evidence here in connection with the "[[Meal-Tub Plot]]" against [[James II of England|James, Duke of York]]. In 1683, [[William Russell, Lord Russell|William, Lord Russell]] was condemned to death at Hicks Hall (following his trial at the Old Bailey) for his involvement in the [[Rye House Plot]].<ref>Temple 2008, pp. 206–207.</ref> |
For 170 years, Hicks Hall was used to hear cases in the county of Middlesex. It is mentioned in many contemporary reports, including [[Samuel Pepys]]'s diary. On 9 October 1660, a [[grand jury]] was convened here to try 29 of the [[List of regicides of Charles I|men who had signed the death warrant]] of [[Charles I of England|Charles I]] (although proceedings then continued at the [[Old Bailey]] Sessions House). In 1679, [[Titus Oates]] gave evidence here in connection with the "[[Meal-Tub Plot]]" against [[James II of England|James, Duke of York]]. In 1683, [[William Russell, Lord Russell|William, Lord Russell]] was condemned to death at Hicks Hall (following his trial at the Old Bailey) for his involvement in the [[Rye House Plot]].<ref>Temple 2008, pp. 206–207.</ref> |
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In addition to the sessions house, it was originally intended to |
In addition to the sessions house, it was originally intended to incorporate in the building a small prison, to relieve overcrowding at [[Newgate Prison|Newgate]]. In the event, the site proved too constricted, but a more modest [[Village lock-up|lock-up]] was included.<ref name="temp206"/> |
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==Closure and successor courthouses== |
==Closure and successor courthouses== |
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Revision as of 22:21, 24 July 2019
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (April 2011) |
Hicks Hall (1612–1782) was a building at the southern end of St John Street, Clerkenwell, London. It was the first purpose-built sessions house for justices of the peace of the county of Middlesex (including the City of Westminster), and became the main court of petty sessions and arraignment for more serious offences, including cases involving plots, attacks and minor transgressions against the state.
Prehistory and location
From at least the 1540s, the Middlesex justices regularly held their sessions in an inn in St John Street. This was one of the closest points in the county of Middlesex to the City of London, lying immediately north of Smithfield Bar, a tollgate on the City boundary. Two inns were used: either the Castle, on the west side of the street, or the Windmill, further north on the east side.[1]
In the 1570s, Elizabeth I granted a lease of waste land in the street to the surveyor Christopher Saxton for building a new sessions house, but for the time being nothing more appears to have been done.[1]
Hicks Hall
In 1609, James I was petitioned by the magistrates of Middlesex for a new site for a sessions house, at a point in the roadway where it broadened out opposite the Windmill.[1] The petition was successful, and the building was completed in 1612.[1]
The estimated costs of construction alone were estimated at up to £900, in general commodities equivalent to £228,456 in 2023. The building was paid for by the wealthy fabric merchant Sir Baptist Hicks (or Hickes), later created 1st Viscount Campden.[2] At the first session held in the new building, in January 1613, it was resolved that it should be named "Hicks-hall" in honour of its patron.[1]
For 170 years, Hicks Hall was used to hear cases in the county of Middlesex. It is mentioned in many contemporary reports, including Samuel Pepys's diary. On 9 October 1660, a grand jury was convened here to try 29 of the men who had signed the death warrant of Charles I (although proceedings then continued at the Old Bailey Sessions House). In 1679, Titus Oates gave evidence here in connection with the "Meal-Tub Plot" against James, Duke of York. In 1683, William, Lord Russell was condemned to death at Hicks Hall (following his trial at the Old Bailey) for his involvement in the Rye House Plot.[3]
In addition to the sessions house, it was originally intended to incorporate in the building a small prison, to relieve overcrowding at Newgate. In the event, the site proved too constricted, but a more modest lock-up was included.[1]
Closure and successor courthouses
By the 1770s the street had become uncomfortably busy and noisy for court business, and Hicks Hall itself had fallen into disrepair. Although some consideration was given to rebuilding it, it was closed and demolished in 1782.[4] Sessions were transferred to the new Middlesex Sessions House at Clerkenwell Green.
When Middlesex Sessions House closed in 1921, cases spanning an Inner London area on both sides of the Thames were moved to the Sessions House in Newington.
Following the demolition of Hicks Hall, a carved oak chimneypiece from the building was transferred first to the Clerkenwell Green Sessions House, and later to that at Newington, where it survives.[5] It is inscribed:
Sir Baptist Hickes of Kensington in the County of Middlesex Knight one of the justices of the peace of this county of Middlesex of his worthy disposition and at his own proper charge buylt this session house in the year of our Lord God 1612 and gave it to the justices of peace of this county and their successors for a sessions house for ever. 1618.[2]
Use as datum point
Hicks Hall was the notional starting point of the Great North Road, and was used as the datum point for mileages on that road. Measurements were taken from the building's front, which was approximately in the middle of St John Street ("the High-street of Saint John"), close to the junction with the much shorter St John's Lane.[6] The location's use for this purpose survived the demolition of the building itself: it continued until the early 19th century when Charing Cross (the statue of Charles I) began to be treated as the nominal centre of London, and the point from which all distances from London were measured.
References
- ^ a b c d e f Temple 2008, p. 206.
- ^ a b Jeaffreson, John Cordy, ed. (1892). "Sir Baptist Hicks". Middlesex County Records: Volume 4: 1667–88. Institute of Historical Research. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
- ^ Temple 2008, pp. 206–207.
- ^ Temple 2008, pp. 207–208.
- ^ Temple 2008, p. 208.
- ^ Webster, Norman (1974). The Great North Road. Bath: Adams and Dart. pp. 15–16.
Sources
- Temple, Philip, ed. (2008). "Hicks' Hall (demolished)". Survey of London: South and East Clerkenwell. Survey of London. Vol. 46. London: Yale University Press. pp. 206–209. ISBN 9780300137279.
- Dictionary of National Biography
- Samuel Pepys' diary, 6 December 1660