Grieving relatives at heart of design for new extension to Westminster coroner’s court

By Julia Gregory, Local Democracy Reporter

The needs of grieving friends and relatives for privacy and dignity are at the heart of the design for an extension to a Westminster coroner’s court, an award-winning architect explained.

The design for the barrel vaulted roof at Horseferry Road was approved by Westminster council’s planning committee.

The current grade II-listed Victorian building, which heard the opening of the inquest into the deaths of 72 people at Grenfell Tower, had a temporary mortuary extension erected this year to cope with the coronavirus pandemic.

Architect Patrick Lynch said attending his father’s inquest when he was a fourth year architecture student influenced the design.

He was “exposed to press photography and intrusive journalism” at a coroner’s court in Somerset.

“That experience meant I vowed I would protect the needs of the bereaved above everything else, and aim to protect their privacy and dignity as much as possible,” he said.

“My overriding memory is not the exterior of the building but its dignified, solemn interior.

“That experience meant I vowed I would protect the needs of the bereaved above everything else and aim to protect their privacy and dignity as much as possible.”

The double storey white stone building will include a new family waiting room, a jurors’ room, which could also be used as a second court room, and office space.

There will also be space for quiet reflection with a new garden of remembrance.

There is not enough office space at the current 1893 neo-Jacobean arts and crafts building.

Staff use offices at the other coroner’s court in Tachbrook Road. In the past they used temporary buildings in the courtyard.

The extension will be made of Jura limestone with a link to the original building decorated with renowned stained glass by Brian Clarke.

The scheme has won the backing of architecture journalists.

Pictured top: Horseferry Road Coroner’s Court