When I reached Jail I decided to draw London’s Newgate Prison. Now I’ve reached Go To Jail it only seems right to draw the Old Bailey. After all, we know that the instruction Go To Jail means go directly to jail. Prior to the demolition of Newgate Prison, the Old Bailey Court stood as part of the prison complex, so it really was a direct route from one to the other. After Newgate was demolished, the current Old Bailey building was erected on the same site.
The Old Bailey is more correctly called The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales. It has become known as the Old Bailey because that’s the name of the street on which it stands. Bailey derives from the old roman wall of the city of Londinium, and Old Bailey Street follows part of the course of the wall.
The current building was opened in 1907. It’s possibly best known for the statue that tops the dome. If you ask a majority of Londoners I’d guess that they would tell you the statue is called Blind Justice. Yet she’s not blind! It’s common to depict the personification of Justice as a young woman, holding a sword and a pair of scales, who is blindfolded to represent impartiality. Yet the Old Bailey statue is not blindfolded and is actually called Lady Justice. She wears a diadem from which sun rays radiate, and looks a bit like the Statue of Liberty’s younger sister who has given up enlightening the world and taken up swordfighting and greengrocery.
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