Old Bailey - In popular culture

A street in the City of London, and, by association, the Central Criminal Court located there. The first courthouse was erected in 1539. The present building dates from 1907; the bronze statue of Justice surmounting its dome is a notable London landmark.

The Central Criminal Court, commonly known as the Old Bailey (a bailey being part of a castle), is a Crown Court centre (higher criminal court) in central London, dealing with major criminal cases in Greater London and, exceptionally, in other parts of England.

All judges sitting in the Old Bailey are addressed as "My Lord" whether they be High Court, circuit judges or recorders.

On the dome above the court is to be found the statue of justice, a woman (without a blindfold), holding in her right hand a sword standing for the power to punish, and in her left hand a balance standing for equity.

Although most court hearings in the UK are public, Court No.

During the Blitz, the Old Bailey was bombed and severely damaged, but subsequent reconstruction work restored most of it.

From 1968 to 1972 a new South Block was built containing more modern courts.

The most senior permanent judge of the Central Criminal Court has the title of the Recorder of London, and his deputy has the title of Common Serjeant of London. The position of Recorder of London should not be confused with that of Recorder, which is the name given to lawyers who sit part-time as Crown Court judges.

The Old Bailey is where Sir John Mortimer practised as a barrister.

Trials in the Old Bailey are open to the public, like most criminal trials in the UK, but it is forbidden to take any form of note in writing, and no form of electronic equipment, including mobile phones, can be brought in. The story that a member of the public, whose mobile happened to interrupt a trial and was called before the court and immediately sentenced to six months imprisonment for contempt of court, was true on that occasion, thus why mobile phones are strictly banned, alongside bags, walkmans and radios.

In popular culture

In the book A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, the Old Bailey is the courthouse named in the book where Charles Darnay is put on trial for treason.

The Old Bailey also appears in the graphic novel V for Vendetta and its film adaptation.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details about V For Vendetta follow.

In the graphic novel, the anarchist protagonist has a "conversation" with the statue of justice, at the top of the building, acting as if she is an ex-girlfriend: he accuses her of cheating on him like a whore with "a man in uniform" -- the fascist regime that has taken over Britain -- but then informs her that her "infidelity" has driven him into the arms of a new "lover", Anarchy.

The destruction of the monument is also present in the 2006 film adaptation, where it is the title character's first terrorist act, beginning the one year countdown to the destruction of the Houses of Parliament.