Crumlin Road Courthouse


The Crumlin Road Courthouse is a former judicial facility on Crumlin Road in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

History

The building, designed by Charles Lanyon in the Neoclassical style, was completed in 1850. It was built just across the road from the Crumlin Road Gaol which had opened a few years earlier and to which it was connected by an underground passage. The building was originally used as a facility for dispensing justice but, following the implementation of the Local Government Act 1898, which established county councils in every county, it also became the meeting place for Antrim County Council. The county council moved to County Hall in Ballymena in 1970.
Pending the opening of the Laganside Courts Complex, judicial hearings were temporarily transferred to other courts to allow the Crumlin Road Courthouse to close in June 1998. It was sold to local investor Barry Gilligan in September 2003 for £1. His plans for the courthouse included redeveloping it as a tourist attraction and a hotel. On 12 March 2009, the courthouse suffered significant damage in a fire and a series of further fires in August 2009 caused further serious damage to the structure. The building was damaged once again by a second large fire on 1 June 2020.
After the former Crumlin Road Gaol building directly across the road became a visitor attraction in November 2012, there was extensive discussion about as to how the area could be regenerated. In March 2017, Lawrence Kenwright, from the Signature Living Group, bought the courthouse site and announced plans to develop the listed building into a hotel.