Law Courts And County Police Office

The Law Courts and County Police Office, designed by T H Wyatt in 1835, is a significant example of Grecian-style architecture. This symmetrical group of buildings is constructed from Bath stone and consists of one storey. The high central portico features four Ionic columns set on a stone base, which are accessed by five stone steps flanked by rectangular stone bastions. The columns support a complete entablature and a pediment that includes a carved Coat of Arms in the tympanum. The entablature extends over the side walls, ending in projecting pier formations behind the outer columns and enclosing a lobby with three entrance doors, although the outer doors are now blocked and replaced with windows in the upper part.

The central entrance features a tall six-panel double door framed by pilasters and an entablature that runs around the lobby as a string course. The blocked doors on either side have similar decorative surrounds. The outer wall's entablature is adorned with stele cresting above the cornice. The entablature continues around the walls of the courtrooms at the rear, all maintaining the same height as the portico. Flanking the portico and in front of the courtrooms are lower wings, each featuring chamfered quoins, a cornice, and a parapet with moulded coping. Each wing contains three windows with architrave surrounds, topped with a frieze and cornice. The extensions, designed similarly and slightly recessed, each have an arched niche. These wings also have a double plinth with a moulded sill course.

Inside, the building boasts a square hall with a coffered ceiling that is partly glazed. The staircases rise to the left and right between solid walls.