Islington Tribune News | Clerkenwell Magistrates Court

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Islington Tribune - by PETER GRUNER
Published: 13 June 2008

Tamar Schoneveld and Alejandra Almada

Up before the beak… from Oliver Twist to The Clash

THE Victorian courtroom is now a television room for hostel guests, complete with replica magistrates’ bench and defendant’s dock surrounded by the original railings.
Cells are being used for storage but there are plans to turn them into the ultimate prison-themed bedrooms.
This is the former Clerkenwell magistrates’ court, a building that has seen thousands of criminals brought to justice.
It is said to have been where Charles Dickens worked while writing Oliver Twist. Clerkenwell is the court where Oliver appears after stealing a pocket watch.
It was the scene of the trial of two members of The Clash pop group, who in 1978 were charged with shooting at pigeons with an air rifle.
The red-brick Grade II-listed building, which closed 10 years ago, was converted earlier this year into the Clink hostel.
Built in the 1840s with stucco decoration, it originally contained a police station.
The developers say they have spent hundreds of thousands of pounds lovingly converting the building while keeping the main features of the court.

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