Woolwich Crown Court

History

In the early 1990s, the Lord Chancellor's Department decided to commission a courthouse adjacent to HM Prison Belmarsh so offenders did not have to be transported to court by vehicle.

The building was designed by the Property Services Agency in the Modernist style, built by Hamills Construction in brick and concrete and was completed in 1993. The design involved a broadly symmetrical main frontage with an entrance block flanked by two wings, laid out a slightly different angles, facing onto Belmarsh Way. The entrance block featured a portico formed by columns supporting a glass canopy and was surmounted by a drum-like structure. The entrance block and the wings were faced in light grey cladding. Internally, the building was laid out with six courtrooms.

Woolwich Crown Court was intended to serve as a high-security courtroom and became the preferred venue for terrorism trials. A tunnel was established linking the court to the maximum-security HM Prison Belmarsh. This provided a secure route for bringing defendants in high-profile terrorist cases before the court. Also, armed police were deployed as necessary to provide security. In June 1998, it was the venue for the trial and conviction of defendants charged with conspiracy to cause the 1996 Docklands bombing.

The court was subsequently the venue for the trial and conviction, in June 2007, of the six men accused of attempting the 21 July 2005 London bombings on the London transport network, the trial and conviction, in December 2008, of Bilal Abdullah in connection with the 2007 Glasgow Airport attack, and the trial and conviction, in July 2010, of those charged with offences in connection with the 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot.

The court was also the place for the trial and conviction, in January 2018, of those charged with offences in connection with the 2015 Hatton Garden safe deposit burglary.

References

References

1. (1 August 2016). "Law Courts and Courtrooms 1: The Buildings of the Criminal Law". Historic England.
2. (5 July 2022). "Planning Board: Woolwich Crown Court, 2 Belmarsh Road Western Way, Thamesmead". London Borough of Greenwich.
3. "Woolwich Crown Court". Cement Aid.
4. "Woolwich".
5. (8 March 2006). "Belmarsh: A 'complex' jail". BBC News.
6. (10 October 2009). "Judges unsure about prefab courts". BBC News.
7. (25 June 1998). "No retrial after jury dismissed".
8. (30 April 2015). "Man jailed over failed 2005 London bombings loses attempt to appeal".
9. (17 December 2008). "Bomb plot doctor jailed for life". BBC News.
10. Dodd, Vikram. (7 September 2009). "Three terrorists convicted of plotting to blow up jets over Atlantic - UK security and counter-terrorism".
11. (12 July 2010). "Would-be suicide bombers jailed for life". BBC News.
12. Massey, Nina. (17 January 2018). "Hatton Garden raiders stole £14m worth of good, court hears".
13. (30 January 2018). "Hatton Garden ringleaders must pay £27.5m or serve more years in prison". Sky News.