An ambitious civic stage

The story

The courthouse transformed the eastern side of Market Square into an architectural statement of civic authority. Built between 1813 and 1819, it was designed by Edward Parke and John Bowden at the request of the politician John Leslie Foster. Its six-column Greek Doric portico is the most immediately recognisable feature, but the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage also records carefully designed stairs, glazed domes and elaborate interior plasterwork.↗1

This was more than decoration. In our reading of the square, the courthouse gives physical form to the public institutions that helped organise the expanding town. The building remains a working courthouse. The Courts Service now offers online courtroom tours, allowing visitors to examine the interior while respecting the practical demands of a functioning court.↗1