Photo: Robin Webster · CC BY-SA 2.0 · via Wikimedia Commons
Courthouse · London, United Kingdom
Royal Courts of Justice
- Dated
- Dated 1873–82
- Declared purpose
- Law courts
- Today
- Survives, still in use
- Architect of record
- George Edmund Street, architect: about 44 when credited (1868, born 1824). Build time on record: about 9 years (1873–82).All architects of record →
Hidden history
Found, Not Built
A Gothic cathedral of law on the Strand. What the photos show is carved stone, a great hall and a skyline of spires.
Opened in 1882
Queen Victoria opened it in December 1882.
The architect died first
G. E. Street died in 1881, before it opened.
Gothic everywhere
The same style was going up in Mumbai, Vienna and Toronto in the same years.
Questions worth asking
- Why do so many architects die just before their great building opens?
- Where did the carvers for all these buildings train?
Possible original uses
- A cathedral or chapter house
- A seat of government
What the photos show
Surrounding Buildings
Old buildings nearby in London. Compare the stone, the domes and the dates.
Lost Buildings
Neighbours that were torn down or burned. Tap one for its photos.
Further viewing
Episodes from My Lunch Break (Michael Kruse), the main lens for this app. They open on YouTube.
