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Ipswich Crown Court

Coordinates: 52°03′12″N 1°08′39″E / 52.0532°N 1.1442°E / 52.0532; 1.1442
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Ipswich Crown Court
Ipswich Crown Court
LocationRussell Road, Ipswich
Coordinates52°03′12″N 1°08′39″E / 52.0532°N 1.1442°E / 52.0532; 1.1442
Built2004
ArchitectAustin-Smith:Lord
Architectural style(s)Modern style
Ipswich Crown Court is located in Suffolk
Ipswich Crown Court
Shown in Suffolk

Ipswich Crown Court is a Crown Court venue which deals with criminal cases at Russell Road, Ipswich, England. It was completed in 2004.

History

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Main entrance to the court

Until the early 21st century, crown court hearings were held in the Civic Centre complex in Civic Drive, which was completed in the 1960s.[1][2] After the judicial facilities in the Civic Centre were deemed to be inadequate, the Lord Chancellor's Department decided to commission a new courthouse: the site chosen formed part of the Ipswich Village Development.[3]

The new building was procured under a Private finance initiative contract in 2001.[4][5] It was designed by Austin-Smith:Lord in the modern style, built by Mowlem and was officially opened by Lord Falconer on 15 October 2004.[6][7] The design involved a long glazed wall, which enclosed the main hall and entrance, and a stainless steel roof which was cantilevered forward on gable walls supported by narrow columns. The gable walls, the columns and the full-height recessed wall on the extreme right, which displayed a Royal coat of arms, were all constructed from white Suffolk bricks. Internally, the building was laid out to accommodate five courtrooms.[8]

Notable cases heard at the court have included the trial and conviction of Steve Wright, in 2008, for the murder of five sex workers,[9][10] the trial and conviction of Paul Clarke and Lorraine Thorpe, in 2010,[a] for the murder of Rosalyn Hunt and Desmond Thorpe,[12][13] and the trial and conviction of Stephen Anthony Searle, in 2018, for the murder of his wife, Anne Seale.[14][15]

Notes

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  1. ^ Upon being convicted, Thorpe officially became Britain's youngest female double murderer, being only 15 at the time of the attacks, a fact that was widely reported in the media.[11]

References

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  1. ^ "Ipswich Crown Court". Government Buildings. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  2. ^ Rock, Paul (2019). The Official History of Criminal Justice in England and Wales. Vol. 2. Taylor and Francis. ISBN 978-0429892189.
  3. ^ "Ipswich Village on schedule". The Ipswich Star. 9 April 2002. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  4. ^ "Mowlem scoops £20m courts PFI project". Building. 17 August 2001. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  5. ^ "New Crown Court to go ahead". The Ipswich Star. 16 October 2001. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  6. ^ "The New Crown Court". The Ipswich Society. 1 January 2005. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  7. ^ "Hunt protestors target court opening". East Anglian Daily Times. 16 October 2004. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  8. ^ "East Anglia Crown Courts". architecture.com. Archived from the original on 30 October 2014.
  9. ^ "Steve Wright guilty of Suffolk murders". The Guardian. 21 February 2008. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  10. ^ "Steve Wright murders 15 years on: How the case unfolded". The Ipswich Star. 16 December 2021. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  11. ^ "Youngest female double murderer jailed". The Independent. 7 September 2010. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  12. ^ "Man gets life for Ipswich double murder". BBC News. 4 August 2010. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  13. ^ "Double Suffolk killer must serve 27 years in jail". East Anglian Daily Times. 4 August 2010. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  14. ^ "UKIP councillor murder trial: Wife 'too old to start again'". BBC. 10 July 2018. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  15. ^ "Former Suffolk councillor had threatened to kill wife before, court hears". East Anglian Daily Times. 10 July 2018. Archived from the original on 13 July 2018. Retrieved 2 June 2019.