Swansea Crown Court is a Crown Court venue which deals with criminal cases at St Helen's Road in Swansea, Wales.
| Swansea Crown Court | |
|---|---|
 Swansea Crown Court | |
| Location | St Helen's Road, Swansea |
| Coordinates | 51°36′52″N 3°57′27″W / 51.6145°N 3.9576°W |
| Built | 1988 |
| Architect | Sir Alex Gordon |
| Architectural style(s) | Neoclassical style |
  Shown in Swansea | |
History
editUntil the late 1980s, judicial hearings in Swansea were held in the west wing of Swansea Guildhall.[1] However, as the number of court cases in southwest Wales grew, it became necessary to commission a dedicated courthouse for criminal matters. The site chosen, which was close to the guildhall but on the opposite side of St Helen's Road, had been occupied by an old tramway depot.[2]
The new building was designed by the Welsh architect Sir Alex Gordon in the neoclassical style, built in concrete at a cost of £5.2 million, and was completed in 1988.[3][4][5][6][7] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of eleven bays facing onto St Helen's Road. The central bay featured a wide opening on the ground floor and a prominent bipartite oriel window on the first floor which was enhanced by a carved Royal coat of arms placed between the two parts.[8] The central bay was flanked by two full-height triangular piers. Internally, the building was laid out to accommodate three courtrooms.[9] The custodial area was extensively refurbished at a cost of £220,000 in August 2013.[10]
Notable cases have included the trial and wrongful conviction, now recognised as a serious miscarriage of justice, of Yusef Abdullahi, Stephen Miller and Tony Paris, in November 1990, for the murder of Lynette White.[11][12][13] Other cases have also included the trial and conviction of Jason Richards and Ben Hope, in February 2013, for the murder of Aamir Siddiqi,[14] and the trial and conviction of an unnamed man, in October 2019, on 36 counts of rape and one count of an assault by penetration against his own daughters.[15][16][17]
References
edit- ^ "Inside the historic and stunning former Swansea crown court". Wales Online. 3 February 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
- ^ "Ordnance Survey Map". 1914. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
- ^ Holland, Edward; Holder, Julian (1 March 2019). Advice to inform post-war listing in Wales (PDF). Cadw. p. 100. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
- ^ Williams, Glanmor (1990). Swansea: An Illustrated History. Christopher Davies. p. 213. ISBN 978-0715407141.
- ^ Stephens, Meic (27 July 1999). "Obituary: Sir Alex Gordon | The Independent". The Independent. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
- ^ "Capital Building Programme". Hansard. 26 January 1996. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
- ^ "How art legacies helped Swansea's Glynn Vivian gallery". BBC News. 14 October 2016. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
- ^ "Swansea, Wales, UK: Swansea Crown Court sign in St Helen's Road which is the highest court of first instance in criminal cases". 30 June 2018. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
- ^ "Swansea Crown Court". The Law Pages. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
- ^ "Swansea Crown Court". John Weaver. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
- ^ "Security guard admits 1988 prostitute murder". The Guardian. London. 4 July 2003. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
- ^ "Killing led to miscarriage of justice". BBC News. 4 July 2003. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
- ^ Mortimer, Dic (2016). A-Z of Cardiff: Places-People-History. Amberley Publishing. ISBN 978-1445656618.
- ^ "Aamir Siddiqi murder: Jason Richards and Ben Hope given 40 years each". BBC News. 8 February 2013. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
- ^ "Father guilty of raping daughters, Swansea Crown Court hears". BBC News. 10 October 2019. Archived from the original on 12 October 2019.
- ^ "Man who 'systematically' raped and fathered children with own daughter for two decades handed 40-year sentence". ITV. 18 October 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
- ^ "Man convicted of rape after fathering six children with own daughter". The Independent. 11 October 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2023.