The Old Courthouse

The Old Courthouse is an Edwardian Baroque building featuring a two-storey symmetrical front made of Portland stone. The design is highlighted by paired fluted Ionic columns that flank a central window, which is topped by a bracketed segmental pediment. This pediment extends into a deep cornice on either side, complemented by a deep entablature. The façade is slightly stepped forward behind the columns and includes a Greek fret band below. A roundel with a wreathed border and swags adorns the pediment. Above the central window, there is a high cornice with short festoons beneath the brackets and a leafy lintel band. The window itself has small pane stained glass, now fitted with modern outer glazing, and volute brackets at the base. The apron of this window displays the date in Roman numerals. A modern sign obscures an opening beneath a sabre and palm emblem, with three small blocked emblems at the base. On either side of the façade are doorways with bracketed pediments, lamps, and deeply recessed overlights, leading to recessed boarded doors.

The long side elevation features a stone eaves cornice and lintels, with chamfered openings and bull-nosed rubble chimney stacks. There are several 12-pane sash windows, with some tripartite windows at the ends. A doorway at the far end has a bracket cornice, a recessed boarded door, and a grilled overlight. The gable end is made of coursed rubble with a small projection to one side, displaying a two-window front facing the lane that mirrors the detailing of the main façade.

Inside, the staircase rises against the front wall, featuring a broad handrail with a metal cross-pattern balustrade and a turned newel. At the landing, there is a deep frieze with vacant escutcheons, foliage trails, and festoons of fruit. The cornice and frieze are decorated with egg and dart motifs, and tall doors with architraves are present throughout. The former Court Room boasts a canted ceiling with rubbed and panelled decorative borders around ventilation roundels, along with a similar cornice and frieze. Classical bracket-like projections are located below each rib, and a framed coat of arms is positioned over the former dais, in front of which the frieze continues. The ground floor has undergone modern alterations due to its conversion into an amusement arcade.