Wisbech court house goes up for auction with Maxey Grounds

Listed with agents Maxey Grounds, the site on offer includes the empty magistrates court and also the current police station which is housed next door.  

Details of the auction were released earlier in the month, and the agent and Cambridgeshire Police have since clarified the police station has no plans to relocate. 

According to the advertisement for the site, Cambridgeshire Police occupies the building as “part of a long term lease at a rent of £1 per annum until 2094”. 

Police also have use of the yard and share the car park as part of the agreement.  

Inside Wisbech court house, which is up for auction with Maxey Grounds. (Image: Used with permission from Maxey Grounds)

Maxey Grounds’ explains: “The freehold of this area is included in the sale subject to this lease. The police station has been recently refurbished at the tenant’s expense.” 

It also says the site has “potential for a range of business, leisure or storage uses”.  

The auction will be held on February 23 at The Oliver Cromwell Hotel, in March from 7pm. It will also be livestreamed.  

Queries and viewings are being coordinated by Maxey Grounds.  

The main entrance of Wisbech court house, which is up for auction with Maxey Grounds. (Image: Used with permission from Maxey Grounds)

The courthouse itself includes the main entrance hall with a lift, a double height court room, a robing room, offices, toilets and the court gallery. The cells are located in the basement.  

The police services are accommodated across two floors.  

Wisbech court house stands prominently next to Freedom Bridge, one of the key routes through town.   

When it opened in 1957, a Wisbech Standard article from April 19 mentions there were concerns about the amount of money spent on the project.  

The building replaced the old South Brink police station and the exterior was designed to be in keeping with the Georgian architecture of the town centre and the Brinks.    

Inside Wisbech court house when it opened in 1957. (Image: Courtesy of Wisbech & Fenland Museum)

In 2010, it was announced that the court – Fenland Magistrates’ Court – was to close as part of a government cost-cutting exercise.  

At a ceremony to mark the closure the following year, there were deliberations about what the building could be in the future.  

On behalf of defence solicitors, John Clarke said: “The only thing they could use it for is a night club.” 

Inside Wisbech court house when it was first built. (Image: Courtesy of Wisbech & Fenland Museum)

The building may be redundant, but court houses elsewhere in the area have gone on to various uses since their closure. 

In Downham Market, the court is now a home. In Ely, the City of Ely Council moved into their former Magistrates Court in 2015.  

The building is called ‘Sessions House’ and has been refurbished.  

Parts of the building are also available to hire for meetings or events, and has hosted art exhibitions and even mock court cases for school children.  

Early events at the Wisbech court house. (Image: Courtesy of Wisbech & Fenland Museum)

One of the first images of Wisbech Court House. (Image: Courtesy of Wisbech & Fenland Museum)