Old Shire Hall & Courthouse
Location:
Suffolk, UK
Client/Contractor:
Bury Developments
Engineer:
Conisbee
Services Engineer: Johns Slater and Haward
Planning Consultant: Evolution Town Planning
Photographs/Visuals:
SOUP
The Old Shire Hall and former Magistrates Court sit at the southern edge of Abbey Gardens in the historic centre of Bury St Edmunds. Forming a prominent group of Grade II listed buildings within the Abbey precinct, the site is surrounded by some of the town’s most significant heritage assets, including St Edmundsbury Cathedral, St Mary’s Church and St Margaret’s House.
At present, the buildings are vacant, having been unoccupied since the courts closed in 2016. While their civic presence remains strong, the complex is largely closed off from public life. Internally, a succession of alterations associated with their former judicial and administrative use has fragmented the original plan forms, introducing service blocks, secondary stair cores and infill that obscure the clarity of the historic spaces. Externally, the western edge of the site is dominated by a utilitarian car park introduced in the mid-20th century, replacing earlier gardens and contributing little to the quality of the setting.
Despite this, the buildings retain a powerful architectural character. The former courtrooms remain defined by their tall proportions and roof lanterns, while the Old Shire Hall presents a robust Edwardian Baroque façade to the north. Set within the wider landscape of Abbey Gardens, the site has the potential to once again play an active role in the life of the town.
SOUP were appointed by Bury Developments to develop proposals for the sensitive reuse of the Old Shire Hall and Courthouse as residential buildings, securing a long-term future for the site while respecting its historic fabric, significance and setting.
The design approach is rooted in careful subtraction and minimal intervention. Poor-quality additions from the 1960s are removed to reveal the original structure and spatial logic of the buildings. The retained central circulation core within the Old Shire Hall becomes the organising spine of the scheme, allowing the buildings to be subdivided efficiently while maintaining their historic hierarchy and legibility.
The proposals introduce six residential units in total: four apartments within the Old Shire Hall and two townhouses formed within the former courtrooms. This arrangement responds directly to the scale and character of the existing spaces rather than imposing a uniform residential model. Within the Courthouse buildings, the dramatic courtroom volumes are retained and reinterpreted. Living spaces are arranged beneath the existing roof lanterns, with new staircases and voids allowing daylight to filter down through the building. These triple-height spaces echo the historic movement through the courts while creating generous contemporary homes.
In the Old Shire Hall, later partitions are removed to reinstate a number of the building’s grander rooms. Apartments are arranged to maximise dual-aspect views across Abbey Gardens and Honey Hill, while all units are provided with private external amenity spaces carefully integrated into the existing fabric.
This project is currently on site and is due to be completed in 2026
