“ For the trial of Huntley and Carr , they queued at 4 in the morning.”
by Frances Gibb6th January , 2011.
It has its own ghosts, as befits the most famous court in the world. It even has its bodies. And after being in charge of the Old Bailey for nearly 20 years, naturally Stephen Jones knows where they are buried.
There is little, in fact, he does not know about the Central Criminal Court, from boiler room and heating to gutters and drains — and, of course, its history, whether public hangings and condemned cells or modern-day trials with technology and witness protection. Jones puts it rather more prosaically: “It’s total facility management. Lighting, ventilation, hot and cold water, security, cleaning, telephone services, catering … everything you need to run a building.”
In essence, it is ensuring that the 18 courts run each day. With a staff of 130 he has to liaise with the many organisations that use them, from the City of London Corporation, which owns the court, to the Prison Service, Witness Service, security, contract caterers and shorthand writers, judges, lawyers, police and press. In all, some 2,000 people a day pass through the doors.
The court is like no other. It consists of three buildings, including the 1907 Grade II* old courthouse that was built on the site of Newgate prison as well as the 1972 extension. It is the only Crown Court owned by a local authority and up to four times a year the Lord Mayor visits formally, in his role as Chief Magistrate of the City of London. “The central seat in every one of our 18 courts is reserved for the Lord Mayor.”
But what Jones calls its “iconic” status springs mainly from the unrivalled list of the criminals who have stood in its docks — usually Court 1. “I escorted a visiting judge once who said: ‘I don’t know what it does to defendants but it frightens the life out of me.’
“In Court 1 you are talking Crippen, Christie, Lord Haw-Haw, the Kray twins, Sutcliffe, Neilson [Black Panther]; Dennis Nilsen, Sonnex [killer of two French students] … the list goes on and on of names known across the country for their particular nastiness.
” Jones cuts an imposing figure, in morning suit (as required by the job) and bearing a huge bunch of keys. “Most people know who I am.” The vast boiler room below the courts bears a sign barring entry save by permission of the Keeper. He also wears safety shoes to prevent slipping or conduction of electricity.
The job has greatly changed in 20 years, chiefly because of the onerous demands of health and safety laws, including fire regulations. “I agree with Lord Young [his recent report on the compensation culture] — you need a bit of common sense.”
Jones is also one of the few people with access to the roofs, nestling below the famous figure of Lady Justice. One midnight emergency entailed tackling water cascading into Court 1: “You go up to the roof, climb all over the slopes, find the drain, remove dead pigeon … water clears. That day Court 1 sat. But it can be a bit cold and wet up there.”
Then there is dealing with judges, lawyers and police. “Case officers always think their case is unique.” In the trial of Paul Burrell, butler to Diana, Princess of Wales, the case officer was worried about his valuable exhibits, wanting special arrangements.
“I took him to another court and showed him £4 million worth of drugs on the table — and about £2 million worth of [criminal] proceedings. I said, ‘Now tell me again about the value of exhibits.’ They realise we do have experience and know what we’re talking about.”
He arranges witness protection, such as a portable witness box that can be placed under the public gallery, or curtains for vulnerable witnesses. Sometimes the Crown or defence object and Jones has to explain the reasons for the measures to the judge.
Jones, who joined after a career in the Royal Navy as “writer”, in charge of pay, cash accounting, records, manuals, advising on the law as well as arranging some courts martial, came after the IRA car bombing of the Old Bailey. But in his time a defendant leapt from the dock, striking Judge Ann Goddard and prompting dock barriers to be raised.
The empanelling of the jury in the Maxwell trial and the screening of 750 potential witnesses with questionnaires was also memorable. And all the while there is intense public interest in trials: “For Huntley and Carr they queued at 4 in the morning. And there were huge queues for Lord Archer.”
Jones loves the building’s history and in his own time conducts guided tours — relishing tales of Dead Man’s Walk, a reconstructed corridor of narrowing arches down which the condemned would walk to their execution in the Old Bailey, the name of the street outside; and of the bodies of the hanged, buried in the walk itself; the public spectacle of executions (“days of feasting and bingeing”) and ghosts such as the Lady in the White.
As Keeper he lives on the job and he admits it can be “spooky”. “It’s not a great place to live; the clock flies off the wall, the pictures turn 90 degrees. Some of it is unexplained.”
But it is all now coming to an end. Jones, 65 this month, is off with his wife to Merseyside to retire. What will he take away? “I shall miss the people here — it’s a team. I have a very loyal staff. But I think it is time to go.”
OLD BAILEY FACTS
*The architect was Edward Mountford, who chose his baroque design to complement the nearby dome of St Paul’s
* The statute of Justice crowning the court stands 60m above the steet and is 3.7m high, is cast in bronze and covered in gold leaf. The arm span is 2.4m. The right hand carries the sword of retribution and the left the scales of justice. Unlike most statues of justice, she is not blindfolded.
* The name the Old Bailey comes from name of the street beside which the site stands – and in turn from the name Norman “Baillie” or fortified place
* Early trials included those of the regicidies in the 1660s and the case of the Quakers Penn and Mead in 1670 – establishing the right of jurors to reach a verdict according to conscience
*The courthouse has 18 courts, handles 1,700 cases a year and costs the City of London Corporation £9 million a year to run
* 700,000 people pass through its doors a year
* The Recorder of London is the senior permanent judge and sits daily with 13 other circuit judges and some other High Court judges or circuit judges attached for short periods
* Prisoners who were sentenced to death were taken from Newgate to Tyburn (near the present day Marble Arch) for public execution via horse-drawn cart
* Jailers would stop for a drink and take the prisoner in with them but would declare: “Not for him – he’s on the wagon.”
* Hangings were in the days before the drop, and the prisoner would use his last few coins to pay friends to grab his body to speed his demise – the “hangers on”.
* In 1783 the streets leading to Tyburn became gridlocked and public executions moved to the Old Bailey
* Executions were such popular public events that, in 1807, 29 people were killed in the crush
* The last public execution in the Old Bailey took place in 1868; Michael Barrett, a Fenian, was convicted of a plot to blow up Clerkenwell House of Detention
* Ghosts of the Old Bailey include the Lady in White, seen in the area of the court that now houses the Probation Service. It is said to be that of Elizabeth Dwyer who was a “baby farmer” or foster carer. She drowned her charges in the Thames. She was convicted and hanged in the Old Bailey
* Another ghost is that of a gentleman who was incarcerated in Newgate Prison in the 14th century. Fellow prisoners killed and ate him, describing the meal as “passing fyne meat.” In revenge, legend has it that Scholler came back as a black dog and terrorised Warwick Square (behind the court)
* Information from the City of London Corporation and Stephen Jones, Random Jottings from the Old Bailey, in Criminal Bar Quarterly.
