Boston Sessions House
| Boston Sessions House | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Boston Sessions House | |
| Location | Church Close, Boston |
| Coordinates | 52°58′45″N 0°01′29″W / 52.9793°N 0.0248°W |
| Built | 1842 |
| Architect | Charles Kirk |
| Architectural style(s) | Gothic revival style |
Listed Building – Grade II* | |
| Official name | Boston Sessions House |
| Designated | 14 February 1975 |
| Reference no. | 1388845 |
  Shown in Lincolnshire | |
Boston Sessions House is a judicial structure in Church Close, Boston, Lincolnshire, England. The structure, which used to be the main courthouse for the north of Parts of Holland, is a Grade II* listed building.[1] The site is also home to County Hall, the former headquarters of Holland County Council.
History
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The first venue for the quarter sessions in Boston was the Guildhall which had been used for that purpose since 1660. However, in the 1830s, the justices complained that the guildhall was too small for them and it was agreed to commission a new sessions house. The site they selected, just to the north of St Botolph's Church, had been occupied by an Augustine priory.[2]
The new building was the designed by
The building continued to be used as a facility for dispensing justice but, following the implementation of the Local Government Act 1888, which established county councils in every county, it also became the meeting place of Holland County Council.[4] After the county council moved to a dedicated building known as County Hall, which was erected on the same site just to southeast of the sessions house in 1927, the sessions house was used solely for judicial purposes.[5][6] The county council was abolished when the newly-formed Lincolnshire County Council was formed at the County Offices in Lincoln in 1974.[7]
The local public library service relocated to County Hall in the late 20th century,[8] and the magistrates moved to a new courthouse in Norfolk Street in 2003.[1] In 2016, developers, Paul and Amy Wilkinson took possession of the whole site and initiated works to convert County Hall into a complex of shopping units, apartments and commercial offices for local businesses.[9][10] Further works to convert the prison cells in the sessions house into a gym were initiated in February 2020.[11]
See also
- Grade II* listed buildings in Boston (borough)
- Spalding Sessions House (built to a very similar design)
References
- ^ a b c Historic England. "Boston Sessions House (1388845)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
- ^ White, William (1856). History, gazetteer, and directory of Lincolnshire, and the city and diocese of Lincoln. R. Leader. p. 290.
- ^ Thompson, Pishey (1856). The History and Antiquities of Boston And the Villages of Skirbeck, Fishtoft, Freiston, Butterwick, Benington, Leverton, Leake, and Wrangle; Comprising the Hundred of Skirbeck, in the County of Lincoln. Longman and Co. p. 216.
- ^ "Local Government Act 1888". Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
- ^ "A History of Boston, Lincolnshire". Local Histories. 14 March 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
- ^ "Timeline History of Boston". Visitor UK. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
- ^ "Historical Background". Lincoln Family History Society. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
- ^ "Boston Library". Lincolnshire Family Services Directory. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
- ^ "Conversion plans for county hall". Lincolnshire World. 12 March 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
- ^ "Preserving a treasured townscape". Lincolnshire Life. 1 December 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
- ^ "Boston's historic Sessions House cells to become training gym". The Lincolite. 17 February 2020. Retrieved 29 August 2022.