Records of Trafford Magistrates Courts
1874-1990
Archives
Find it!
Related Material:GB124.A.PSDM
Place:Trafford Metropolitan Borough/Greater Manchester/England
Title:
Records of Trafford Magistrates Courts
Date of work:
1874-1990
Reference number:
GB124.A.TRAFF
Level of description:
Fonds
Includes:
Custodial history:
Trafford Metropolitan Magistrates' Court deals with cases arising generally within the Petty Sessional Division of Trafford, whose boundaries coincide with those of the Borough of Trafford. The present borough boundaries came about in 1974 as a result of local government reorganisation and include parts of what had been Cheshire and Lancashire. From 1974 until 1985 two courthouses were in daily operation.
The Altrincham Courthouse comprised two courts which were over the old Dunham Road Police Station, with further occasional use being made of the Council Chamber of Altrincham Town Hall across the road. This courthouse dealt with cases arising in Altrincham and surrounding areas and was served by the court office at Byroe House on Ashley Road.
Cases arising from Sale, Stretford and other parts of northern Trafford were dealt with at the Strangeways Courthouse.
This had, before reorganisation, been the court for the Manchester Court Bench which no longer exists.
A listed building, the courthouse had to be demolished after the Strangeways riots and sadly, all that remains of the original fabric is the sandstone entrance to the building, which has been incorporated into the newly-built chapel of the refurbished prison. A separate court office operated at the Strangeways Courthouse, but was vacated, as was the Altrincham office when the present courthouse was completed in 1985.
A third courthouse situated over Sale Police Station was used very occasionally between 1974 and 1985. A state-of-the-art building following Home Office Design Guidelines, (the current courthouse) was built to bring all judicial and administrative functions of the local magistrates under one roof. The foundation stone was laid on 19 July 1984 by Ernest Hancock JP, then Chairman of the Magistrates' Court Committee, and the building was opened by Her Royal Highness The Princess Anne on 14 November 1985.
In 2002 following an agreement between the Court Service and the newly amalgamated Greater Manchester Magistrates Courts Committee, Altrincham County Court moved into Trafford Courthouse. This enabled them to vacate their premises in Altrincham and makes better and more economical use of Trafford Courthouse. Since the building of the Manchester Civil Justice Centre (sometimes referred to as the 'filing cabinet' which was opened in October 2007), much of the work of Trafford County Court has moved there.
This prefaced the amalgamation of County Courts, Crown Courts and Magistrates Courts in England and Wales into a single administrative unit, temporarily known as Unified Administration, but later termed Her Majesty's Court Service. This became reality in April 2005.
Source:
Deposited 12 September 2000 (accession number 1727)
Access restrictions:
UnrestrictedAccess to registers less than 30 years old is restricted; court orders restricted for 100 years
Use restrictions:
Unrestricted
General notes:
Arrangement:Arranged by series of court registers which record various functions of the court.Catalogued 2011 by David Govier. Not complete - some series not catalogued to item level
Topics:
Record types:
COLLECTION
Language:
English
Record number:
7182288