Over 1,000 rooms, three and a half miles of corridors, and the biggest Victorian mosaic floor in Europe.
In this episode, we are joined by Richard from the Royal Courts of Justice Estates Office to explore the history of this iconic building, from its construction in the 1880s to its connections with Queen Victoria, who watched barristers arguing below from a balcony, in an area that became known as the 'bear garden'.
We discuss some of the building's more unusual stories, including a mysterious room number staff have never been able to fully remove, and an accident involving the clock tower.
https://insidehmcts.blog.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/171/2026/10/Historic-Court-Buildings-RCJ-15-October.mp3Listen to the latest episode now, available wherever you get your podcasts from!
A transcript of the podcast is also available.
seen at 11:41, 19 October in Inside HMCTS.