The central criminal court of England and wales is one of the most important criminal courts in the UK, located north of the River Thames, in the heart of the City of London, bordering the London Museum to the north, the British Museum to the west, and St. Paul's Church to the east. The courthouse has been located here since the 15th century, countless criminal cases have been tried here, and the British judicial system has gradually formed, matured, and influenced the European continent here, and then affected the world because of the rise of the empire that never sets, and it is no exaggeration to say that this is one of the birthplaces of the Western judicial system.
Picture note: Full view of old Bailey
The courthouse was originally built on the Walls of London, but as the City of London expanded, the walls were torn down and a street was formed along the remains of the Old Wall, called "Old Bailey Street" (in the Middle Ages, "bailey" originally referred to the defensive façade of the castle). The courthouse is located on Old Bailey Street, and the British simply call this court "old bailey".
For more than 1,000 years, it was a prison for all kinds of prisoners. Until the 16th century, when the prison was moved, the court was built on the original site of the prison, and after countless destructions, reconstructions, re-destructions, and reconstructions, and finally what it is today.
The courthouse we see today was designed by the famous British architect Edward William Mountford, completed in 1902 and officially inaugurated on 27 February 1907. Mumford was the founder of the "Neo-Baroque" architectural style, and the Old Bailey Building was one of his masterpieces, so the courthouse naturally had a very prominent Edwardian Baroque architectural feature: fluent lines, tall and magnificent, detailed and gorgeous, and full of space. After more than 100 years of wind and rain and several repairs, the old Bailey Building now looks more quaint, solemn and majestic, making it easy for us to recall the grandeur of the Empire when the sun never sets.
Picture note: Over a hundred years old, the old bailey is no less than modern architecture
At the dome of the building, a statue of the goddess justice stands majestically. 3.5 meters tall, 22 tons of weight, she is painted with gold, holding a balance in her left hand and a sword in her right hand, with a calm and resolute expression, looking down on the city of London. On the back of the statue, a Latin legal motto is inscribed: "fiat justitia ruat caelum" (for justice, even if the world falls apart).
Photo note: Looking at the statue of the Goddess of Justice
The goddess of justice originated from ancient Greek mythology. The goddess of justice in ancient Greek mythology, whose name is themis, is the daughter of heaven and earth, and often holds a balance in her hand. Later, the goddess of justice united with Zeus, the god of the gods, and gave birth to a daughter named Dike. Dick assists his mother in running law, order, and justice. Dick is shaped as a beautiful girl with a sword in her hand.
Photo note: Goddess of Justice
After the rise of ancient Rome, the Romans accepted the Greek gods and mixed with the Roman gods, creating many new gods. They merged the images of Themis and Dick's mother and daughter into one, giving them the name justitia (from which the word "justice" was derived). She holds the balance in one hand and the sword in the other. The deep meaning of the statue of the goddess of justice requires us to look at it from her apparent characteristics. On the one hand, for the symbolic significance of the sword and the balance, the famous German jurist Rudolf von Yellin once had a very incisive statement: "The goddess of justice holds the balance in one hand, and measures it with it, and holds the sword in the other hand, and uses it to maintain the law." If the sword does not carry the balance, it is naked violence; if the balance does not carry the sword, it means weakness. The two are mutually reinforcing, and a state of complete rule of law can dominate only when the power of the goddess of justice in holding the sword and the skill of the scales prevail."
The Goddess of Justice on the roof of the old Bailey has also inspired other courts around the world, especially in the courthouses of the Commonwealth or former British colonies, where there is often a statue of a goddess with a balance in her left hand and a sword in her right hand. It is worth mentioning that some sculptures of the Goddess of Justice are veiled, such as the statue of the Goddess on the main entrance of the Hong Kong High Court.
Photo note: Goddess of Justice in hong Kong courts
The goddess of justice is blinded to represent what the law calls "blind justice." The Romans wanted to give the goddess of justice two new meanings, one is that everyone is equal before the law, and the other is to observe and judge with the heart. The trial of law is about justice, and the judge cannot be deceived by appearances, cannot be influenced by any factor other than any "justice". This is why the Goddess of Justice is blindfolded. Old Bailey's goddess of justice was not blinded. According to the instructions in the court brochure, the goddess was not originally blinded, and her exercise of justice would not lose the objectivity and impartiality of her judgment.
The Goddess of Justice, carved by the English sculptor F.W. Pomeroy, was placed on the roof of the building in the year the court opened. During World War II, the Old Bailey Building was severely destroyed along with the statue of the goddess. In the early 1950s, the British rebuilt the old Bailey Building, and in 1952, the new statue of the Goddess of Justice, along with the newly renovated Courthouse, was re-erected in London.
Above the gate into the Old Bailey Building, a sentence is inscribed in stone and is very conspicuous: "Defend the children of the poor & punish the wrongdoer" (protecting the children of the poor & punishing the evildoers). Over the past few hundred years, many famous cases have been tried here, and justice has been done in the old Bailey.
图注：defend the children of the poor & punish the wrongdoer
Old Bailey is a magnificent building, but its main entrance is small. Above the main entrance, there are three statues of angels: in the middle is the "angel of recording", on the left is the "angel of fortitude", and on the right is the "angel of truth".
Note: Three angelic sculptures on the main entrance of old Bailey
Caption: The Hall of old Bailey
More than a hundred years ago, a young man worked as a clerk in the courtroom of old Bailey. Here, he came into contact with a large number of criminal cases, from which he learned about the hardships and sufferings of the british people at the bottom. This work experience gave him great inspiration, based on the cases, gangsters, and victims he had come into contact with, he created a large number of literary works through artistic processing, becoming one of the literary heroes and respected by future generations. The young clerk was the Great British writer Charles Dickens, and several of Dickens's important works, including Orphans of the Mist, Great Prospects, and Tales of Two Cities, were inextricably linked to Old Bailey.
Dickens was a clerk in the old Bailey court
Today, The Old Bailey remains the busiest criminal court in the UK. At the entrance of the courthouse, you will occasionally see judges or lawyers wearing wigs and legal robes carrying thick trial materials and files in and out. They are among the most respected people in British society, not only because becoming judges or lawyers requires extraordinary intelligence and tenacity (they are also the highest paid people in Britain), but perhaps also because, every day, under the gaze of the Goddess of Justice, they hold the bottom line of justice for society.
Picture note: Lawyers at the door of old Bailey
Travel tips
As long as you wish, during working hours in the court (Monday to Friday, except holidays), you can walk into the court hall for free and even observe the court trial. However, no one can bring cameras, mobile phones and other audio and video recording equipment into the courtroom, and worse, the court does not provide free storage services. Therefore, if you visit old Bailey, you must make arrangements for the storage of the parcel in advance.