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Defend the children of the poor and punish the wrongdoer
The Central Criminal Court, better known as the Old Bailey after the street where it is located just outside the former western wall of the City of London. The street follows the line of the original fortified wall, or "bailey", of the City. There have been at least five courthouses on the site. The medieval courthouse was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and was replaced in 1673 by a building where one wall of the courtroom was left open to maximize fresh air in hopes it would reduce the risk that prisoners with gaol fever (typhus) would infect others in court.
The structure is faced in Portland stone and the interior lobbies and a monumental staircase are decorated with Sicilian marble floors, allegorical paintings representing Labour, Art, Wisdom and Truth, and ornate mosaic arches. The building was built with opulently appointed dining room for the judges, four oak-pannelled courtrooms with separate rooms for male and female witnesses and a third for witnesses of "the better class". On top of the 67 foot high dome is a 12 foot gold leaf statue of justice holding a sword and the scales of justice by F W Pomeroy. Note, she is not, as is typically found on such statues, blindfolded. - AsNotedIn