The site selected by the Lord Chancellor's Department was occupied by the old Bishopgate Gas Works which was built in the mid-19th century.

[6] The first new structure was the new magistrates' court building, on the southwest part of the site, which was designed by the city architect, Robert Goodyear, in the debased neoclassical style, built in red brick and was completed in 1985.

This was followed by the crown and county courts, on the northeast part of the site, which was designed by the Property Services Agency in the same style, built in red brick at a cost of £7 million,[7] and was completed in 1988.

[8][9] The design of the crown and county courts building involved two sides of a courtyard which faced southwest.

[10] Notable cases have included the trial and conviction, in May 2009, of two men and a woman, for the murder of Simon Everitt, in a re-enactment of a scene from the horror film, Severance.