Tottenham Magistrates Court

Details

800/0/10103 LORDSHIP LANE 30-JUL-04 Tottenham Magistrates' Court

II Police Court, now Magistrates' Court. Opened 1937 with minor late-C20 alterations. W.T. Curtis, Middlesex County Council architect. Brown and blue brick with rubbed red brick and stone dressings. Hipped tiled roofs. Neo-Georgian style. PLAN: Wide and shallow 2-storey-plus-attic front range, with single storey flanking wings; tall single storey court rooms behind this, and 2-storey-plus-attic wide and shallow range to rear; narrow link to late-C20 addition at rear, not of special interest in 2004. EXTERIOR: Front range of 9 window bays, with lower 2 window bay wings. Windows are multi-pane casements, those to ground floor with continuous rubbed brick band under stone plat band; those to first floor under rubbed red brick flat arches and sides, then stone band then brick band below stone cornice. 3 small hipped dormers in steeply pitched hipped roof. Stone band continues to lower flanking wings, and with 1 window to left blocked late-C20. Stone advanced entrance portio with segmental hood on columns, and plaque of MCC arms with scales; stone dressings continues to central first floor window with scrolled surround. Side elevations to central courts range have taller windows under similar arches. Rear range similarly detailed to windows and arches, and with tall chimney stacks. INTERIOR: Entrance vestibule pair of heavy panelled front doors that open fully into the wall, with matching inner pair of doors. Paired stairs to front with metal handrails, leading to former witness and waiting rooms at upper levels (not inspected). Central entrance hall with later-C20 counters and minimal Deco detail to top of piers, flanked by Court 1 and Court 2. These courts have original English Oak fittings with blue leather upholstery including judge's bench at higher level, witness boxes, clerk's and solicitor's benches, and public seating to rear behind fence and gate; dock to side wall with late-C20 screen; high level windows above chevron relief band; royal arms. Court 3 smaller but with tall exterior windows, also with similar with original oak fittings and dock. Commemorative plaque to inner hall, where steps down to cells (not inspected) providing discrete direct access to courts. Justices' retiring room to rear range with boxed-in radiators, dado, and caretaker's accommodation above (not inspected). ADDITIONAL FEATURES: Front boundary is marked by a low brick wall and metal railings. HISTORY: Opened February 1937 by Lord Chief Justice Hewart as Tottenham Police Court and re-named Magistrate's court after 1949. Built on the site of 'Elmslea', a girls orphanage supported by the Draper's Company. The contractor was James Steward & Sons, Ltd., and the furnishings were provided by Maurice Adams, Ltd. SOURCES: The Architect and Building News, 19 November 1937.

Listed as a well surviving suburban police court (now magistrates court) of 1937 designed by the noted Middlesex County Council architect's department, this under W.T. Curtis and in a dignified Neo-Georgian style also retaining the original oak fittings in the court rooms. Curtis' Harrow Magistrate's Court of 1931 is also listed at Grade II.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

491094

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
The Architect and Building News in 19 November, (1937)

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.