Assize Courts

The Assize Courts, built in 1861 and attributed to J B Clacy, are designed in a Baroque revival style using channelled Bath stone ashlar. The building has two storeys and features two and a half storey corner pavilions that project forward. It includes cornices on both the ground and first floors, with panels adorned with palmettes above the caps. The central section has five bays, flanked by one bay wings. The ground floor showcases Doric columns that are engaged and rusticated, paired with the pavilions, while the first floor features Ionic columns. The 19th-century glazed sash windows are round-headed on the first floor and segmental-headed on the ground floor, all with architrave surrounds and keys. The central ground floor projects between the flanking pavilions and includes a three-bay arcaded portico with a balustrade above. The attics are decorated with elaborate recessed scroll terminals above the entablature, forming aedicules. At the rear, there are extensive buildings. Inside, there is a large central hall that is top-lit and has a gallery. The street wall features two pairs of high cruciform piers with rusticated rebates at the corners and ball-finials, along with heavy lozenge pattern panels of rails.