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07/2012 - News release
UK Supreme Court pays tribute to JPs from Middlesex
23 May 2012
Lord Phillips, President of the Supreme Court, is to unveil a plaque to commemorate the work and to pay tribute to former Justices of the Peace from the old county of Middlesex.
The brass plaque will be unveiled on Monday 28th May at 4.30pm at the Supreme Court on Parliament Square, London and will be installed on the "Middlesex Wall" of the exhibition space within the Supreme Court. The plaque will include a tribute to links between the Justices of Middlesex and Surrey.
The wall also shows other memorabilia relating to the County of Middlesex.
Over a hundred years of work has been undertaken by the Justices of the Peace who served on the Magistrates Courts Committee and on the Lord Chancellor's Advisory Committee for the Middlesex Area.
Also invited the ceremony will be Richard Walduck, a recently retired Middlesex Magistrate and Lawrence Kershen QC, son of Samuel Kershen, a former Magistrate and Deputy Lieutenant of the County, and who left a small legacy which paid for the commemorative plaque; and Luke Hughes, who designed the plaque.
The home of The Supreme Court is the former Middlesex Guildhall, built between 1911 and 1913 in an historic location directly linked with justice and the law for nearly a millennium. The Middlesex Guildhall originally housed the Middlesex County Council and Quarter Sessions.
Designed by architect James Gibson, and built in Portland stone, it features a great deal of internal and external decorative work by Henry Fehr and was described by Nikolaus Pevsner as art nouveau Gothic.
Extensive refurbishment to create a fitting home for The Supreme Court restored many of these details, including fine panelling, carving and stained glass with connections to the old county of Middlesex. And, much of the Middlesex Art Collection is still displayed within the building, including portraits of various notable figures from the history of the county. These include portraits of Hugh Percy, 1st Duke of Northumberland (c1714-1786), a prominent politician and Lord Lieutenant of Middlesex, painted by both Thomas Gainsborough and Joshua Reynolds.
Photocall
You are invited to attend the event and bring a photographer. Light refreshments will be served.
Ends.
Contact
Zena Fernandes - Deputy Head of Communications
020 7960 1886