North London Coroner's Court
| North London Coroner's Court | |
|
Hertfordshire | |
|---|---|
 The Coroner's Court | |
| Type: | Court house |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TQ24489643 |
| Location: | 51°39’10"N, 0°12’7"W |
| Town: | Chipping Barnet |
| History | |
| Address: | 29 Wood Street |
| Built 1915 | |
| By: | William Bartlett Chancellor |
| Court house | |
| Information | |
The North London Coroner's Court, also known as the Registry Office is an early twentieth century municipal building standing at 29 Wood Street in Chipping Barnet, Hertfordshire. It was built as a town hall for Barnet, and later, after the council vacated, it became a registry office. It is now the seat of a coroner's court.
The building stands on the south side of Wood Street (and close to the border of Middlesex, which runs behind the houses on the north side of the street as well as hemming the town in further to the south).
The court is a Grade II listed building.[1]
History
In the early 20th century Barnet Urban District Council was based at council offices at No. 40 High Street in Chipping Barnet.[2][3] After the existing council offices were deemed inadequate for their needs (the building was a narrow terraced building in a row of commercial properties), civic leaders decided to procure purpose-built council offices: the site selected had previously been occupied by the Old Barnet Brewery Company for which liquidation proceedings started in 1909[4] and were completed in 1912.[5]
The new building, which was designed by William Bartlett Chancellor in the English Baroque style, was completed in 1915.[6] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with five bays facing onto Wood Street; the central section featured a doorway with a stone surround flanked by Ionic order columns and an arched pediment bearing the town's coat of arms above; there was a window with projecting flagpole on the first floor and semi-circular pediment bearing an oculus above; a turret was erected on the roof.[1] The building was subsequently extended at the rear.[1]
The building continued to be the headquarters of Barnet Urban District Council for much of the 20th century. In 1965 however the council was abolished and a vast new Barnet Council, spreading deeply into both Hertfordshire and Middlesex, was erected,[1] which established its seat at Hendon Town Hall.
Later use
Since the council left, the building has been used for a variety of purposes including as a location for the television drama series Midsomer Murders broadcast in June 2002.[7] It also served as the home of the Barnet register office until this moved to Burnt Oak in Edgware in around 2008.[8]
After a major programme of refurbishment works costing £275,000, the North London Coroner' Court, which had previously been based at Myddelton Road in Hornsey, Middlesex moved into the building in October 2009.[9][10]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 National Heritage List 1391752: Registry Office (Grade II listing)
- ↑ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 27699, p. 4834, 26 July 1904.
- ↑ "Kelly's Directory 1914". http://specialcollections.le.ac.uk/digital/api/collection/p16445coll4/id/59213/download. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
- ↑ London Gazette: no. 28234, p. 2145, 19 March 1909.
- ↑ London Gazette: no. 28585, p. 1459, 27 February 1912.
- ↑ Cherry, Bridget; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2002). London 4: North, The Buildings Of England. Yale University Press. p. 170. ISBN 978-0300096538.
- ↑ "Midsomer Murders Locations - High Barnet". midsomermurders.org. http://www.midsomermurders.org/barnetloc.htm. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
- ↑ "Couples can marry at Hendon town hall in the Burroughs as Barnet register office relocates". Hendon & Finchley, Barnet & Potters Bar, Edgeware & Mill Hill Times. 3 February 2017. https://www.times-series.co.uk/news/15069090.want-to-get-married-at-hendon-town-hall-register-office-set-to-relocate/. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
- ↑ "Register office reopens as coroner's court in Barnet". Hendon & Finchley, Barnet & Potters Bar, Edgeware & Mill Hill Times. 4 October 2009. http://www.times-series.co.uk/news/4663389.Register_office_reopens_as_coroner_s_court_in_Barnet/. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
- ↑ "Coroners and mortuaries". London Borough of Barnet. https://www.barnet.gov.uk/citizen-home/births-deaths-marriages-and-nationality/deaths-funerals-and-cremations/coroners-and-mortuaries.html. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
