Wexford Courthouse

Neo-Georgian courthouse in Wexford, Ireland

Wexford Courthouse

Wexford Courthouse

Wexford Courthouse

Location within Ireland

General information
Architectural style| Neo-Georgian style
Address| Wexford, County Wexford
Country| Ireland
Coordinates| 52°20′21″N 6°28′24″W﻿ / ﻿52.3393°N 6.4732°W﻿ / 52.3393; -6.4732
Completed| 1866 (Tate School), 2018 (Courthouse)

Wexford Courthouse is a judicial facility on Belvedere Road in Wexford, County Wexford, Ireland. It is at least the fourth building to have served as Wexford Courthouse.

## History

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A previous courthouse, located on Commercial Quay, was designed by Sir Richard Morrison in 1803,[1] and was completed in 1806, before undergoing further renovations in 1807.[2] This building was burnt down by the I.R.A. in 1921.[3]

In 1925 Wexford Gaol was converted into a county hall and courthouse. A detached, five-bay, three-storey over basement building, the rear windows of the gaol featured granite Gibbs surrounds. A castellated Gothic screen and gateway serves as the entrance to this building's grounds. The jury room and the judges' chambers were renovated in 1995.[4]

The current courthouse building, originally an educational establishment, was built between 1864 and 1866 and opened as the Tate School in March 1867.[5] This building was designed by architect Sandham Symes.[6] After the school got into financial difficulties and closed in 1949, the building was acquired by Wexford Corporation in 1950, at a cost of IR£5,000.[5] After Wexford Corporation relocated from Wexford Town Hall,[7] it served as the offices of Wexford Corporation until 2007.[8] It was subsequently sold to the Courts Service for conversion into a courthouse to replace the aging courthouse on Hill Street which had been built in 1930.[9] The building underwent extensive renovations and extensions, which were completed in December 2017, and represented an almost ten-fold increase in the size of the building.[10][11] The court commenced sitting on 23 January 2018,[11] and it was officially re-opened as a courthouse by Charles Flanagan, Minister for Justice and Equality, and Frank Clarke, Chief Justice of Ireland, in February 2018.[12]

## References

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### Notes

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1. ^ Dunne & Phillips 1999, p. XII.
2. ^ "Co. Wexford, Wexford, Commercial Quay, County Court House". Dictionary of Irish Architects 1720–1940. Archived from the original on 30 January 2022. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
3. ^ "Carty, Francis". Dictionary of Irish Biography. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
4. ^ Dunne & Phillips 1999, p. 326.
5. ^ a b "Wexford Courthouse" (PDF). Courts Service. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 July 2019. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
6. ^ "Tate School, Davitt Road North originally Wygram Place, TOWNPARKS (ST. JOHN'S PARISH), Wexford, WEXFORD". Buildings of Ireland. 7 July 2005. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
7. ^ "Visiting Wexford's new library for the first time since it opened". Patrick Comerford. 29 October 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
8. ^ "€10 million courthouse is close to completion". Wexford People. 24 October 2017. Archived from the original on 17 November 2019. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
9. ^ "Council officially open new €46m headquarters". The Independent. 27 September 2011. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
10. ^ "Wexford Courthouse, Co Wexford | Wejchert Architects". www.wejchert.ie. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
11. ^ a b "Minister Flanagan officially opens new Wexford courthouse". justice.ie. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
12. ^ "Official Opening of Wexford Courthouse – Courts Bundle PPP". BAM Ireland. 19 February 2018. Retrieved 17 November 2019.

### Sources

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* Dunne, Mildred; Phillips, Brian (1999). The Courthouses of Ireland: A gazetteer of Irish courthouses. Kilkenny: The Heritage Council. pp. 326–327\. ISBN 1-901137-13-9.