[1] The first building on the site was designed by George Gwilt the Elder and opened as the Surrey County Sessions House in 1791.

[3] Important cases in the 19th century included the trial of the Reverend Robert Taylor who was convicted of blasphemy at the Surrey County Sessions in April 1831[4] and then committed to Horsemonger Lane Gaol.

[7] Following local government re-organisation in 1889, London County Council inherited the Middlesex Sessions House, which was no longer in Middlesex, and the Surrey County Sessions House, which was no longer in Surrey.

[9] The new and expanded Sessions House was designed by the London county architect, W. E. Riley, in the classical style and was completed in 1921.

[11] Recent cases at the courthouse have included the trial following the 2009 Upton Park riot in August 2009: 80 people suspected of violence before and after the match were arrested[12] and several West Ham fans were convicted in the courthouse of violent disorder in April 2010, receiving prison sentences, including one of 20 months.