Victoria Law Courts

The Victoria Law Courts were built in 1887-91 and designed by Aston Webb and Ingress Bell. They are a late Victorian public building of national importance and made Webb's reputation. Red brick and terracotta outside, they are faced in sandy-yellow terracotta inside. They made the material fashionable in the city, and a 'terracotta period' in its architecture lasted for twenty years. They were part of the Chamberlainite programme of making Birmingham consciously into a great city, and it obtained city status in 1889 while the courts were being built. The Great Hall inside has large windows at each end with local worthies (from Shakespeare to Matthew Boulton) at one end and Birmingham trades at the other.

The tour will start outside and after a short introduction about the history of the building the tour will move inside to see the Great Hall and public corridors. The courts will be sitting and access to one of the heritage court rooms in not guaranteed, but if the courts are not in use, the tour will include a court room. The tour will be led by Andy Foster, architectural historian and author of the recent revisions of the Pevsner Architectural Guides to Birmingham and the Black Country.

When entering the building there will be a security check, this includes walking through an archway detector and being checked by hand with a handheld scanner. This security check may take some time. There are strict rules on what you can and cannot take inside the court building. Phones and cameras are allowed but photos or videos are strictly forbidden.

More information on rules for entering the Victoria Law Courts here - https://www.gov.uk/entering-court-or-tribunal-building

The tour will start at 3pm outside the main entrance of the Victoria Law Courts on Corporation Street.

This tour is not wheelchair accesible.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Victoria Law Courts, 153A Corporation Street, Birmingham, United Kingdom