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Sir
Baptist Hickes of Kensington in the County of Middlesex Knight one of the justices of the peace of this county of Middlesex of his worthy disposition and at his own proper charge buylt this session house in the year of our Lord God 1612 and gave it to the justices of peace of this county and
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in the middle of St John Street where it broadened out, opposite the
Windmill inn, and close to the junction with St John's Lane. The estimated costs of construction alone were estimated at up to £900 (in general commodities equivalent to £228,000 in 2023). The building was paid for by the
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By the 1770s the street had become uncomfortably busy and noisy for court business, and the building itself had fallen into disrepair. Although some consideration was given to rebuilding, it was eventually closed and demolished in 1782. Sessions were transferred to the new
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The site of Hicks Hall remains obvious as a large island in the middle of St John Street, distinguished by the divergence of the building frontages on either side of the street to leave space for two clear thoroughfares. In the late 19th century a set of
319:, and the agreed point from which all distances from London were measured. Until the late 19th century, milestones could still be seen on the Great North Road stating the number of miles "from Hicks Hall", or "from where Hicks Hall formerly stood".
277:, commemorating Hicks' gift, was installed in Hicks Hall in 1618. Following the building's demolition, this was transferred first to the Clerkenwell Green Sessions House, and afterwards to that at Newington, where it survives. It is inscribed:
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Before I went forth this morning, one came to give me notice that the
Justices of Middlesex do meet tomorrow at Hickes hall and that I, as one, am desired to be there; but I fear I cannot be there, though I much desire
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on that road. Measurements were taken from the building's front. The location's use for this purpose survived the demolition of the building itself: it continued until the early 19th century when
161:(or Hickes), later created 1st Viscount Campden. At the first session held in the new building, in January 1613, it was resolved that it should be named "Hicks-hall" in honour of its patron.
249:(which, for a time, also became known colloquially as "Hicks Hall"). Middlesex Sessions House closed in turn in 1921, when cases spanning the Inner London area on both sides of the
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was petitioned by the magistrates of
Middlesex for a new site for a sessions house. The petition was successful, and this time the building was erected, being completed in 1612.
115:, a tollgate on the City boundary. Two inns were used at different times: the Castle, on the west side of the street, and the Windmill, slightly further north on the east side.
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For 170 years, Hicks Hall was used to hear cases in the county of
Middlesex, and is mentioned in many contemporary reports. On 9 October 1660, a
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were built on the island, described in 1892 as "a modern erection which, if more useful, is less dignified" than the original courthouse.
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In addition to the sessions house, the original intention was to incorporate a small prison in the building, to relieve overcrowding at
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for more serious offences, including cases involving plots, attacks and minor transgressions against the state.
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From at least the 1540s, the
Middlesex justices regularly held their sessions in an inn at the southern end of
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was condemned to death at Hicks Hall, following his trial at the Old Bailey, for his involvement in the
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52:, London. It opened in 1612, and was closed and demolished in 1782. It was the first purpose-built
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228:. In the event, the site proved too constricted to allow this, but a more modest
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200:(although he had in fact almost certainly hired the three assassins). In 1683,
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for building a new sessions house, but nothing more is heard of this project.
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Former buildings and structures in the London
Borough of Islington
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629:. Vol. 46. London: Yale University Press. pp. 206–209.
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published in 1873, some 90 years after the building's demolition
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granted a lease of waste land in the street to the surveyor
443:. London: Middlesex County Record Society. pp. 329–349
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was acquitted at Hicks Hall of complicity in the murder of
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Temple, Philip, ed. (2008). "Hicks' Hall (demolished)".
494:. Vol. 1. London: G. Bell & Sons. p. 311.
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The site of Hicks Hall in St John Street (looking north)
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their successors for a sessions house for ever. 1618.
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338:(published 1663–1678), the following lines appear:
299:Hicks Hall was the notional starting point of the
600:. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p.
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597:Hudibras: written in the time of the late wars
655:. London: Lockwood & Co. pp. 54–63.
622:Survey of London: South and East Clerkenwell
441:Middlesex County Records: Volume 4: 1667–88
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184:gave evidence here in connection with the "
25:South front of Hicks Hall in about 1750: a
712:History of the London Borough of Islington
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16:Courthouse in Clerkenwell, London, England
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707:History of local government in Middlesex
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571:. Bath: Adams and Dart. pp. 15–16.
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529:"Inner London Sessions Court (1385732)"
211:The hall receives a passing mention in
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176:, proceedings then continuing at the
649:"From Hicks's Hall to Campden House"
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170:men who had signed the death warrant
168:was convened here to try 29 of the
79:The hall stood at the start of the
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534:National Heritage List for England
93:datum point for measuring mileages
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236:Closure and successor courthouses
140:John Rocque's Map of London, 1746
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68:), and became the main court of
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594:(1905) . Waller, A. R. (ed.).
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215:'s diary for 6 December 1660:
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315:) began to be treated as the
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111:, lying immediately north of
653:Walks and Talks about London
490:; Matthews, William (eds.).
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255:Sessions House in Newington
194:Karl Johann von Königsmarck
152:The location chosen was an
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514:Temple 2008, pp. 207–208.
492:The Diary of Samuel Pepys
465:Temple 2008, pp. 206–207.
317:notional centre of London
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180:Sessions House. In 1679,
83:, running from London to
567:Webster, Norman (1974).
431:Woodd Smith, B. (1892).
348:, wh'had told the Clock,
305:datum point for mileages
243:Middlesex Sessions House
157:wealthy fabric merchant
99:Prehistory and location
44:at the southern end of
453:British History Online
433:Jeaffreson, John Cordy
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303:, and was used as the
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202:William, Lord Russell
138:Hicks Hall marked on
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58:justices of the peace
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678:51.52083°N 0.10167°W
569:The Great North Road
557:Temple 2008, p. 208.
414:Temple 2008, p. 206.
674: /
437:"Sir Baptist Hicks"
385:, part III, canto 3
323:Cultural references
313:statue of Charles I
190:James, Duke of York
66:City of Westminster
683:51.52083; -0.10167
581:Timbs 1865, p. 54.
477:Timbs 1865, p. 57.
374:play'd in all ...
350:For many years at
295:Use as datum point
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253:were moved to the
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124:Christopher Saxton
95:along that route.
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247:Clerkenwell Green
192:. In 1682, Count
159:Sir Baptist Hicks
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206:Rye House Plot
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118:In the 1570s,
113:Smithfield Bar
109:City of London
105:St John Street
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70:petty sessions
54:sessions house
46:St John Street
27:wood engraving
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538:. Retrieved
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451:– via
445:. Retrieved
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364:Hickses-Hall
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346:Old Dull Sot
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681: /
645:Timbs, John
360:Westminster
182:Titus Oates
154:island site
120:Elizabeth I
74:arraignment
50:Clerkenwell
696:Categories
666:51°31′15″N
540:17 October
391:References
188:" against
178:Old Bailey
166:grand jury
130:Hicks Hall
42:courthouse
34:Hicks Hall
174:Charles I
145:In 1609,
89:Edinburgh
62:Middlesex
647:(1865).
382:Hudibras
378:—
335:Hudibras
332:'s poem
40:, was a
669:0°6′6″W
613:Sources
435:(ed.).
230:lock-up
226:Newgate
147:James I
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362:, and
261:Legacy
251:Thames
447:8 May
311:(the
36:, or
631:ISBN
542:2020
496:ISBN
449:2020
368:And
87:and
85:York
72:and
56:for
602:298
358:At
344:An
328:In
245:on
220:it.
172:of
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
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