Middlesex Sessions House
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The Former Middlesex Sessions House is a building on Clerkenwell Green in the London Borough of Islington in London, England.
It was built in 1780 for the Middlesex Quarter Sessions of the justices of the peace, replacing nearby Hicks Hall; which had fallen into disrepair. (The new sessions house also was for some time known as "Hicks Hall".)
The Sessions House is substantially larger than Hicks Hall and was built in the classical style (in the ionic order). In contrast with the modest sessions houses of earlier days, the new Middlesex Sessions House was built with imperial grandeur in its proportions and decoration. The dome which covers its entrance hall and staircase is a copy of that of the Pantheon in Rome.
The Sessions House served as the main judicial and administrative centre of Middlesex until the creation of Middlesex County Council and the London County Council in 1889. In the division of assets between the new bodies in that year, the Sessions House was within the boundaries of the County of London and was allocated to the London County Council. It continued in use for judicial purposes until 1921 when it was sold and all remaining business was transferred to the Sessions House in Newington Causeway. The administration of Middlesex was later based at the Middlesex Guildhall in Westminster, which was also within the County of London.
In later years the old sessions House fell into disrepair. It has however in later years been bought by a masonic trust and restored to its former glory.[1]
