Snaresbrook Crown Court

Snaresbrook Crown Court is a historic, grade II listed building situated in Snaresbrook, an area within the London Borough of Redbridge. It is one of 12 Crown Courts serving Greater London and is designated as a third-tier court. It is set within 18 acres of grounds and has its own lake, known as Eagle Pond. It operates 20 court rooms and manages 7,000 cases a year, making it the largest Crown Court in the United Kingdom. In 2014 the court saw 4,400 cases brought to trial.

Construction of the building started in 1841 and finished two years later. It was built to a design by the architects George Gilbert Scott and William Bonython Moffatt, the designers of many notable buildings including St Pancras railway station in London. Snaresbrook Crown Court was originally built as an orphanage at the behest of the philanthropist Andrew Reed who named it the Infant Orphanage Asylum; later it became the Royal National Children's Foundation. Under various titles, it remained an orphanage until 1938 when it became the Royal Wanstead School. The building continued as a school until 1971, although plans were in place by the mid-1960s for it to become a court.

Snaresbrook Crown Court opened on 26 November 1974. The latest building to be added was the outer annex in 1988 at a cost of £3m. The court is located on Hollybush Hill, and is opposite the junction to High Street, Wanstead. The nearest tube station is Snaresbrook on the Central line.

The Wanstead Infant Orphan Asylum was founded by the philanthropist Andrew Reed in 1827 and was based in Hackney. In the 1830s, and owing to a lack of space in the current building, Reed applied to the Crown Estate for a section of land in Snaresbrook, which was then part of Wanstead Forest, and a grant to help fund the building of a new premises. The application was successful and construction started on 27 June 1841. Set to a design by the architects George Gilbert Scott and William Bonython Moffatt, the foundation stone was laid by Albert, Prince Consort.

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