A JUDGE WHO OWNED HIS COURT.

Shannon News, 20 April 1926, Page 3

A JUDGE WHO OWNED HIS COURT.

The dust of shattered love romances cannot lie anywhere more deeply than in a venerable building in Red Lion Square, Holborn, W.C. There, surrounded by narrow alleys, is the centre of justice of the shrievalty of of the County of London —the Sheriff's Court-

It is perhaps the oldest court in the world with a continuous history, but its main function now is to assess the; damages lo be paid for breach of pro mise of n arriage by men who lack the moral courage to appear when tlu actions against them are called in the High Court and judgment is entered in default.

When the Court will meet again depends on the affairs of lovers. Until some years ago two court-rooms were occupied all day -for the greater part of the week, but the authority of the Sheriff has been so shorn that he now takes his seat- only three or four times yearly. From Saxon Days

It was iri this, court that the Saxon King Irie, about the year 690, was first represented by his judges, and through it the legal administration was subsequently continued and sanctioned by King Alfred, Canute the Dane, and William the Conqueror. Within a stone's throw of its front door, it is said, moulder the bones of Oliver Cromwell, Ircton, and Bradshaw, whose remaiis were disinterred from Westminster Abbey to be exposed on the gallows. No place in London has an exterior less like a court. The interior is rusty and the plain furniture has the smell of age. Judge and Owner Mi*. Under-Sheriff Tufnel Burchell is not only the judge of the Court. He also owns it. The appointment has been held for 250 years by four members of four generations of his family, and one of ther bought the building and so extended it that the present court-room was erected on the site of the stables of the house. The succession is passing to iltz fifth generation now that Mr. Burchell's son lias become associated with him. Besides repairing the damage of unstable love, the Sheriff' also has to resort to one of the antiquated processes of law by holding an inquisition on a writ of eligit to ascertain whether a debtor had any real property unencumbered in the bailiwick.