Northampton Crown Court

Northampton Crown Court is a Crown Court venue which deals with criminal cases at Lady's Lane in Northampton, England.

Northampton Crown Court
Northampton Crown Court
Location	Lady's Lane, Northampton
Coordinates	52.2408°N 0.8936°W / 52.2408; -0.8936
Built	1991
Architectural style(s)	Modern style
Shown in Northamptonshire

History

Until the late 1980s, criminal court hearings in Northampton were held in the Sessions House.^[1][2] However, as the number of court cases in Northampton grew, it became necessary to commission a more substantial courthouse for criminal matters. The site selected by the Lord Chancellor's Department had accommodated a series of rows of terraced housing (Kerr Street and Park Street) before the area was cleared.^[3]

The building was designed by Kit Allsopp architects,^[4] built in buff stone at a cost of £11.5 million,^[5] and was completed in 1987.^[6] The design involved two gabled sections connected by a recessed glass atrium facing onto Lady's Lane. The right hand gabled section was fenestrated by a small square window on the ground floor and featured a prominent Royal coat of arms mounted on the brickwork at first floor level. Internally, the building was equipped with four courtrooms.^[7] The design won the Summer Exhibition Award from the Royal Academy of Arts in 1986.^[6] As a second-tier court, the complex was originally commissioned to deal solely with criminal cases,^[8] but was later remodelled to include provision for the County Court, which deals with civil cases, and the Family Court as well.^[9]

Notable cases

Notable cases heard at the courthouse include:

• December 2002 – Shaied Nazir, Ahmed Ali Awan and Sarfraz Ali, sentenced to life imprisonment for the racially motivated murder of Ross Parker in Peterborough, shortly after the September 11 attacks.^[10]
• January 2004 – David Holland, former drummer with the heavy metal band, Judas Priest, sentenced to eight years for attempted rape and indecent assault against a 17-year-old male with learning difficulties.^[11]
• March 2007 – Andrew Randall, sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder and sexual abuse of his baby daughter.^[12]
• July 2009 – Murdo Mackay and Anrew Mackenzie, directors of Derby County F.C., sentenced to three years (reduced to 18 months on appeal) for fraudulently claiming "commission" for brokering a loan for the club.^[13]
• November 2013 – Anxiang Du, sentenced to life imprisonment for the 2011 murder of the Ding family.^[14]
• September 2022 – Joshua Kendall, sentenced to life imprisonment for the attempted murder of a police officer in HM Prison Onley.^[15]