County Hall, Coventry
| County Hall | |
|
Warwickshire | |
|---|---|
 County Hall on Cuckoo Lane | |
| Type: | County hall |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SP33527900 |
| Location: | 52°24’29"N, 1°30’31"W |
| City: | Coventry |
| History | |
| Built 1783 | |
| By: | Samuel Eglinton |
| County hall | |
| Information | |
| Condition: | Converted to a bar |
County Hall is a historic former courthouse in Coventry's Cathedral Quarter. It was designed by architect Samuel Eglinton and opened in 1783.[1] Today it is a bar and restaurant.
Land adjacent to the building was used as a gaol; the Prison Governor's House is still attached to the building.[2] It is thought that the building may have been a second guildhall in Coventry, in addition to St Mary's Guildhall.[3]
County Hall is today a Grade II* listed building.[4]
History
The Hall was opened in 1783[1] when it was used as a county court. Its most notable case was in 1849 which resulted in the hanging of Mary Ball (who had been found guilty of poisoning her husband) outside the court - the last person to be hanged there,[5] which had over 20,000 spectators.[6]
The courts moved to their current site on Much Park Street in 1988 and the building lay empty until it was bought for use as a bar in 2000. The interior was redesigned although aspects of the courthouse such as the judge's chair and public gallery were left untouched.
See also
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about County Hall, Coventry) |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Shoker, Sandish (28 May 2012). "Order! Bar opens in Coventry's old court house and jail". Coventry Telegraph. http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/2012/05/28/order-bar-opens-in-coventry-s-old-court-house-and-jail-92746-31057592/. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
- ↑ "Heritage and history". Coventry Society. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20111015153639/http://www.coventrysociety.org.uk/pages.asp?PageId=7. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
- ↑ "Dig For History, Urges Enthusiast". Coventry news. 14 August 2000. http://www.cwn.org.uk/heritage/places/coventry/county-hall/2000/08/000814-county-dig.htm. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
- ↑ County Hall, Coventry - British Listed Buildings
- ↑ "Welcome to the Establishment". Coventry Society. 7 June 2012. http://www.coventrysociety.org.uk/detail.asp?ArticleId=247. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
- ↑ Goulden, Barbara (15 January 2000). "Old jail will have clink of glasses". Coventry Evening Telegraph.
