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and built on the south side of St Paul's Square in 1753. After the justices talked of "the foetid and unwholesome state of the courts", officials decided to erect a new shire hall on the same site.
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and completed in 1881. The design involved a main frontage with five bays facing onto St Paul's Square; the central section of three bays, which was symmetrical, featured an arched
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room in the building in 1914. The facilities were further augmented when the 19th century Cowper
Building, located to the west of the shire hall and named after the former
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in 1969, the shire hall was used solely for judicial purposes as the magistrates' court, as the crown court and as the county court. Crown court work moved to the new
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Two of her
Majesty's justices of the peace for the County of Bedfordshire sitting as a Crown Court at the Shire Hall, Bedford, on the hearing of an appeal
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The Law
Reports And on Appeal There from in the Court of Appeal, Decisions on Crown Cases Reserved and Decisions of the Railway and Canal Commission
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More properties on the south side of St Paul's Square were acquired and demolished so enabling the building to be extended to the designs of
283:. Notable cases heard by the court included the trial and conviction of William Chambers for the murder of his wife and mother-in-law in
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in 1991, and the majority of the magistrates' court work at the shire hall was moved to Luton
Magistrates' Court in June 2014.
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524:"Bedfordshire 1913–2013: the First County Record Office and how it has evolved to meet the challenges of the first 100 years"
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The current building replaced an earlier sessions house for the county thought to have been designed by Thomas Moore in the
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The building continued to be used as a facility for dispensing justice but, following the implementation of the
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298:-shaped council chamber and education offices in 1910. The county records office was established in a
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at roof level. The southern elevation of the building abutted the north bank of the
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272:. Internally, the principal rooms were a large baronial hall and some courtrooms.
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501:"'The borough of Bedford: Introduction', in A History of the County of Bedford"
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by the construction of five extra bays to the east to create a dedicated
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After the county council moved to larger and more modern facilities at
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600:"Borough Hall should be historically listed, says councillor"
480:. The Star, Christchurch, New Zealand. 20 November 1902
573:"County Offices (Cowper Building), Bedford (1321438)"
652:. Lord Chancellor's Department. 1978. p. 124.
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16:County building in Bedford, Bedfordshire, England
310:, was acquired in 1938: it had been designed by
201:. The shire hall, which was the headquarters of
179:Location of Shire Hall, Bedford in Bedfordshire
503:. London: British History Online. pp. 1–9
602:. Bedford Today. 7 April 2016. Archived from
193:is a municipal building in St Paul's Square,
8:
260:on the ground floor and the first floor and
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522:Collett-White, James Francis John (2013).
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739:Grade II listed buildings in Bedfordshire
392:. Bedfordshire Archives Service Catalogue
626:"Bedford And Mid Beds Magistrates Court"
224:The new building, which was designed by
667:"Bedford County Court and Family Court"
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754:Government buildings completed in 1881
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689:"The Buildings of Market Hill, Luton"
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744:Buildings and structures in Bedford
578:National Heritage List for England
363:National Heritage List for England
314:and had previously formed part of
236:facings by John Wood & Son of
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478:"Wife and mother-in-law murdered"
205:from 1888 to 1969, is a Grade II
170:
163:
358:"Shire Hall, Bedford (1114519)"
304:Lord Lieutenant of Bedfordshire
711:"Magistrates' Courts: Bedford"
390:"Sessions House or Shire Hall"
232:, was built in brick with red
1:
540:10.1080/00379816.2013.791616
456:"Local Government Act 1888"
281:Bedfordshire County Council
244:on the ground floor with a
203:Bedfordshire County Council
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277:Local Government Act 1888
264:on the second floor with
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713:. Hansard. 30 April 2018
749:County halls in England
499:Page, William (1912).
316:Bedford Grammar School
111:Architectural style(s)
434:"Shire Hall, Bedford"
528:Archives and Records
458:. Legislation.gov.uk
230:Gothic revival style
115:Gothic revival style
412:"Bedford: timeline"
287:in September 1902.
69: /
24:Shire Hall, Bedford
256:above; there were
143:Reference no.
73:52.1350°N 0.4672°W
606:on 31 August 2019
327:Luton Crown Court
226:Alfred Waterhouse
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715:. Retrieved
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604:the original
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414:. Visitor UK
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394:. Retrieved
367:. Retrieved
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246:coat of arms
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199:Bedfordshire
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46:Bedfordshire
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695:22 February
534:: 111–129.
484:14 November
323:County Hall
308:Earl Cowper
138:14 May 1971
76: /
52:Coordinates
733:Categories
333:References
234:terracotta
191:Shire Hall
135:Designated
129:– Grade II
61:52°08′06″N
717:6 October
673:31 August
632:31 August
610:31 August
584:31 August
553:6 October
507:6 October
462:17 August
440:31 August
418:6 October
396:31 August
369:31 August
285:Eversholt
97:Architect
64:0°28′02″W
669:. Gov.uk
548:72987222
300:muniment
38:Location
296:polygon
266:turrets
248:in the
228:in the
213:History
195:Bedford
146:1114519
42:Bedford
546:
436:. 1921
254:finial
252:and a
544:S2CID
250:gable
242:porch
238:Leeds
89:Built
719:2020
697:2023
675:2019
634:2019
612:2019
586:2019
555:2020
509:2020
486:2020
464:2019
442:2019
420:2020
398:2019
371:2019
189:The
92:1881
536:doi
735::
575:.
571:.
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532:34
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379:^
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341:^
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