Statute Law Repeals - Law Commission - Ministry of Justice

5.57 The Ipswich Assizes Act 1836 34 overcame these difficulties. The Act permitted
the justices (acting through quarter sessions) to purchase a suitable site and then
to build on it a new county hall, courts of justice, ancillary office accommodation
and lodgings for the judges. Alternatively, the justices could construct the new
complex on land adjoining the existing county gaol. Once built, the various
buildings were to vest in the county justices for assize, quarter sessions and
other court, administrative and electoral purposes, and they would be responsible
for on-going maintenance and insurance. The costs of the project - including
fitting-out - were to be defrayed either by borrowing (secured on the county rates)
or by assessing a special county rate. The judges’ lodgings were to be made
available to the high sheriff as required, and otherwise let to produce a rental
income.
5.58 The East Suffolk county hall was built in Ipswich in 1837, in front of the 18 th
century gaol which has now been demolished. The building today is listed. The
purposes underpinning the 1836 Act are spent, however.
GROUP 16 - SURREY
Croydon court house
5.59 Croydon’s original town hall was built in the 16 th century. By the early 19 th century
it had become “extremely incommodious”, it lacked adequate facilities for holding
the Surrey assizes (which had sat alternately at Guildford and in Croydon), and it
was in want of repair. So too was the adjoining butter market house. Each
required rebuilding.
5.60 The Croydon Court House, Market House and Burial Ground Act 1806 35 required
the parish and vestry to repair the existing town hall and court house or to rebuild
it, together with a replacement butter market house and corn market. In order to
do so, the parish was permitted to purchase an alternative site, divert any public
streets necessitated by the project, and defray the costs by the sale of the
existing site and of certain allotment lands. 36
5.61 The replacement town hall (with court room) was built on the High Street in 1809.
The building survived until 1893 when it was decommissioned and demolished as
part of the Croydon improvement scheme. The town hall, containing municipal
offices and law courts, was rebuilt on Katharine Street. As a consequence, those
parts of the 1806 Act which related to the High Street building are now spent and
can be repealed. 37
34 6 & 7 Will.4 c.xi (1836).
35 46 Geo.3 c.cxxx (1806).
36 The sale of certain enclosed allotments, the creation of an additional burial ground, and the
protection of various gravel pits (which provided material for repairing roads) were also
authorised by the 1806 Act, ss 1-8,13 and 14. However, these provisions fall outside the
scope of the present topic and are not recommended for repeal.
37 The 1806 Act was amended by the Local Government Supplemental Act 1869 (c.cxxiv)
and the scheduled Provisional Order No.1 relating to Croydon, which transferred certain
lands held by Local Act trustees to the Local Board of Health. However, because the
amendment in the 1869 Act was cast in such general terms it would be inappropriate to
seek to repeal just a small portion of that Act.
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