Old Bailey

Old Bailey, the court or sessions-house in which are held the monthly sittings of the Central Criminal Court, established in 1834, for the trial of offences committed in the City of London, the county of Middlesex, and parts of other counties within a certain distance from the Metropolis. The name is properly that of the street itself, which runs from Ludgate Hill to Smithfield, passing Newgate Prison. The judges of the Central Criminal Court are the Lord Mayor, the Sheriffs, the Lord Chancellor, the Judges, the Aldermen, Recorder, Common Sergeant of London, Judge of the Sheriffs' Court, or City Commissioner, and any others whom the Crown may name as assessors. Those who actually preside, however, are the

Recorder and Common Sergeant, a judge of the law attending only when unusual legal questions are raised or the prisoner's life is involved.