[1] Until the 1980s, the principal criminal court for north London was the Middlesex Guildhall in Parliament Square.

The site selected by the Lord Chancellor's Department had been occupied by a printing business established in the 19th century and known as "David Allan" which produced theatrical posters and ration books; the operation was acquired by HM Stationery Office in the 1920s but the factory closed in the 1980s.

[3][4][5] The building was designed by Kyle Stewart in the modern style,[6] built in red brick with glass features at a cost of £17.6 million,[7] and was completed in April 1991.

[10] Notable cases heard at the court have included the trial and conviction, in 1998, of the British politician and white supremacist, Nick Griffin, for "publishing or distributing racially inflammatory written material",[11][12] and the trial and conviction, in 2016, of the stalker, Alex Gray, for a seven-year campaign of harassment against the English singer-songwriter and actress, Lily Allen.

[13][14] In 2014, cases at the court were delayed after barristers staged a protest outside against cuts in government funding for Legal Aid to defendants.