It was built over the four years to either side of 1780 for the Middlesex Quarter Sessions of the justices of the peace.
In contrast with the modest sessions houses of earlier days, the new Middlesex Sessions House was built with imperial grandeur in its proportions and decoration.
It was enlarged, and remodeled on all but the main front in 1860 by Frederick Hyde Pownall.
The dome which covers its entrance hall and staircase is a copy of that of the Pantheon in Rome.
The Sessions House served as the most urban and senior magistrates centre and as a nascent administrative centre of Middlesex (which included Westminster and Islington for example) until county councils were created for Middlesex and London in 1889.
From 1931 to 1973 the Old Sessions House served as the headquarters of Avery Weighing Machines, manufacturers of weighing-machines and scales.
After their departure the building fell into further disrepair until in 1978 it was acquired and restored by a masonic trust and the following year opened as the London Masonic Centre, incorporating conference and social facilities.
Our client bought the building in 2015 and we were commissioned to carry out feasibility studies for several new uses. This included research and proposals for the conversion and refurbishment of the building to its former glory.
Planning permission was sought and approved from Islington Council to convert the building from offices into a variety of uses associated with hospitality.
