It's actually called the Central Criminal Court, but receives it's nickname from it's position of a road that once followed a wall, then called a Bailey. For about four and a half centuries this building has existed in some form or another, and used to stage public hangings.
 |
| A public hanging at the Old Bailey. |
Sadly this area is closed to the public, but the public is still allowed to view cases being tried. Before leaving, we were told that cellphones and cameras were prohibited, and I left my camera in my room.
To get there, we used the metro for the first time. The metro system in London is expansive, with several different lines crisscrossing in a bizarre manner all over the city and beyond. This allows stops to be placed all over London, making an entrance always close by to use. Many sections of the metro are actually currently under renovation in anticipation of the Olympic Games.
The metro map can be very confusing, but the train itself was pretty clean.
 |
| Can anyone find Tottenham Court? |
After a short ride, we exited the metro and walked to the Old Bailey. After a little bit of confusion, we got in line for security checks. As it was my turn, I emptied my pockets to find...my cellphone.
Having no place to leave it, I left my class, used the metro to return to my dorm, and then came back to the Old Bailey. After waiting in a larger line, I finally got through security, learned where my class was, and after great anticipation, entered the courtroom.
We were in a box high above the court. Below on our left was the judge, and before him was rows of what appeared to be judges. On the far right was a glass box, presumably holding the defendant.
The judges and lawyers all wore those funny little wigs you sometimes see in older movies. They were a little more brown than white, but it was comical to see both the men and women solemnly plead their case in these little hats of horse hair. Apparently, they were first used as a form of keeping anonymity.
 |
| Ridiculous. |
About two minutes after I finally got into the court, it was adjourned. Apparently the judge had some issue with some of the paperwork and ended it so it could be fixed. I was disappointed to leave so quickly, but got some of the details from others in my class. Apparently it had been a murder case, but they only talked about some evidence and talked very quietly, so it ended up being very boring, and noone knew all the details of the case.
That afternoon, I decided I was tired of the British Museum, and went to the National Gallery.
An art museum with pieces dating back to the 13th history, it was filled with beautiful paintings from pretty much every century and with many themes. There was many religious paintings. I wish I could tell you more, but art is really not my forte. I do remember paintings that had dragons, tigers, a beheaded man, and two guys jousting on boats.
 |
| Definitely two guys jousting on boats. Now thats what I call art. |
There was also an exhibit on landscape paintings from Northern European countries including Norway, which was interesting to look at.
I'm ending this post now because the next day was pretty long, and this should help keep it in bite-sized chunks. I should get that post finished tonight or early tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment