Old Bailey Court Listings (Central Criminal Court)

Court User or Gallery Visitor: Which Rules Apply to You?

The Old Bailey treats the people with business in a courtroom differently from the public who come to watch. Know which group you are in before you set off.

Court users are defendants, witnesses, jurors, lawyers, police officers and anyone named in a court letter. They go through the main entrance and a full airport-style search, and they can usually keep a phone if it stays silent in the courtroom. Gallery visitors are members of the public, students, writers and tourists. They use the entrance to the public galleries, which the City of London Corporation runs under stricter rules.

Relatives and friends who come to watch a trial sit in a public gallery, so expect the gallery rules to apply to you. If you are unsure which group you fall into, ask the court office before the day rather than at the door.

Old Bailey Public Gallery Rules

Since 1 June 2026, the City of London has required official photographic ID for anyone entering the public galleries, and it checks that ID each time. The City of London's Old Bailey page warns that the rules can change at short notice, so read it on the morning of a visit.

Three kinds of item cannot go into a gallery:

• electronic devices, including phones, smartwatches and tablets
• large bags and rucksacks (a handbag is fine)
• food and drink

The difficult part is that the door offers nowhere to leave anything. Find a Court and the City of London both say there is no storage at the public gallery entrance, so a visitor turned away with a phone loses their place. Plan where your phone will be before you travel.

Dress matters as well, because the City of London asks visitors to dress appropriately and says entry can be refused. GOV.UK adds that clothing with offensive slogans is not suitable for any court. Sikh visitors should contact the security team before attending for guidance on access. Anyone needing reasonable adjustments should contact security at least 48 hours ahead.

A group can have no more than 20 people. A school or college organiser must email the security team at least 72 hours before the visit.

The two official sources give different times, so treat the shorter window as the safe one. The galleries close over lunch, and the building does not open on bank holidays. Sittings are also reduced during August.

A Public Gallery Visit at the Old Bailey, Step by Step

A gallery visit goes smoothly when every item that cannot go in stays at home. The steps below follow the City of London's rules in the order you meet them.

1. Read the City of London's Old Bailey page on the morning of your visit, since it says the rules can change at short notice.
2. Check the list on this page and write down two or three courtrooms with their sitting times.
3. Pack official photo ID, such as a passport or driving licence, and a small handbag at most.
4. Leave your phone, smartwatch, food, drink and any rucksack at home or with someone who is not coming in.
5. Arrive before the morning session, because security checks every visitor and gallery seats are limited.
6. Expect x-ray screening of your bag and a pat-down search by security officers.
7. Show your ID each time you enter a gallery, including after the lunch break. Contact details for the court office are in the panel lower down; the City's page gives the security team's details for groups and adjustments.
8. Expect the galleries to close for lunch between 12.40pm and 2pm, and aim to be back by 3.30pm, the earlier of the two official afternoon cut-offs.

Security Around the Building

Without a phone, you will not have a map or the time to hand. A paper note of the courtroom numbers and a wristwatch without smart features avoid most problems.

The City of London's security team works with the City of London Police, the Metropolitan Police and Project Servator, a counter-terrorism policing operation. Officers may stop and talk to visitors around the building. The City asks everyone to cooperate with every check.

Tours Instead of a Hearing

A tour suits visitors more interested in the building than in a live case. Guided tours of the building, led by City of London Guides and booked through Eventbrite, have run in summer and cover the history, notable trials and artworks. Check the City's page for current dates and the tour's own entry conditions, because tours are seasonal.

What Does Each Person Need on the Day?

The answer depends on why you are at the Old Bailey. Use the part below that fits your situation, and treat the letter or summons from the court as the final word.

Defendants on Bail

Arrive 30 minutes before the time in your court letter. GOV.UK gives that advice for every court. Your hearing may not be the first one in the courtroom, so allow for a long wait. Speak to your solicitor or barrister about where to meet them inside, and read the guide for defendants going to court.

Witnesses and Police Officers

Witnesses come in as court users. The gallery phone ban does not apply to them, but phones must be silent in court. The Witness Service can arrange support before and on the day, and the witness guide explains what happens. Officers giving evidence for the first time should allow extra time for the building's security checks.

Family and Friends of Those Involved

Supporting someone at the Old Bailey usually means sitting in the gallery while they are in the dock or the witness box. That puts you under the ID, age and phone rules, so a parent cannot bring a child under 14 to watch. Read the guide for family members at court before the first day of a long trial.

Students and First-Time Observers

Students, writers and curious visitors fill many gallery seats. Some wonder whether watching a stranger's trial is in poor taste. Open hearings exist so the public can see justice done, and quiet, respectful behaviour is what makes your presence welcome.

How Do You Pick a Trial to Watch From the List?

Choose from the list below the night before or on the morning itself. Each courtroom appears with its number, its sitting time and the type of hearing.

For a first visit, a trial gives the most to follow. An entry marked "Trial (Part Heard)" means the jury has already started hearing evidence, so you join a case already under way. A "For Trial" entry may be a new trial opening that day, which often starts with legal argument and jury selection rather than evidence. Sentencing hearings are shorter and end with the judge's decision.

Once inside, keep these points in mind:

1. Enter and leave quietly, ideally during a pause or adjournment.
2. Stand when the judge enters or leaves, and do not speak during the hearing.
3. Stay at least until a break if you can, rather than drifting between rooms.
4. Remember that relatives of a victim or defendant may sit beside you.

A judge can clear the gallery for part of a case, for example while a vulnerable witness gives evidence. If that happens, ushers will ask you to leave, and you can try another courtroom.

Well-known trials draw queues, and seats in a gallery are limited. Have a second and third courtroom from the list noted on paper, since your phone cannot come in with you.

What Old Bailey Court Listings Show Day to Day

Jury trials dominate Old Bailey lists. In the eight sitting days this site stored between 6 and 15 October 2026, more than half of the 334 listed hearings were trials, either opening or already part heard.

Day by Day, 6 to 15 October 2026

Each sitting day looked different. Friday 9 October was the heaviest day, and Thursday 15 October the lightest.

Daily totals ran from 32 to 56 hearings, spread over 14 to 18 courtrooms. Friday 9 October was the busiest day. On six of the eight days, at least 17 of the building's 18 courts had hearings.

Courtrooms, Start Times and Prosecutors

About 6 in 10 hearings started at 10am. Smaller groups started at 11am, noon and 2pm, with a handful at 9.45am or later in the afternoon. Courts 17 and 18 carried the most entries, followed by Court 13 and Court 6. Court 1, the best-known room, sat on fewer days.

The Crown Prosecution Service brought most cases, although around one in eight came from other prosecutors. Across the period, 24 hearings carried a remote marker, which usually means a video link for a defendant or witness. Eight entries were flagged as restricted, never more than two on one day, and this site does not show them.

Because so many trials run for weeks, the same courtroom often shows the same case day after day. A missing entry one morning may simply mean the trial is not sitting that day. The Crown Court daily list guide explains the columns, and the firm list and warned list pages cover trials not yet given a date.

Why Is a Case Missing or Masked on the List?

Many Old Bailey entries show asterisks instead of a name, and that is deliberate. Youth cases, hearings under reporting restrictions and other restricted entries never appear on this site.

Defendants appear only as a masked first name and, where safe, a surname. Readers who know a case from the news may therefore struggle to spot it. Search with the case number from your paperwork instead.

Lists change after publication too. A trial can collapse, a jury can be discharged, or a sentencing date can move. Read why a case might not be listed and when lists are published before assuming something has gone wrong, then call the court if you are a party or witness.

Where Do Verdicts and Sentencing Remarks Appear?

A listing shows that a hearing was scheduled, never what happened in it. Being on an Old Bailey list says nothing about guilt.

For results, the most reliable public source is the judiciary. The judiciary's judgments and sentencing remarks page publishes the judge's remarks for a selection of Central Criminal Court cases, usually those with wide public interest. Most cases never appear there, and news reports cover only a fraction of the rest.

A victim, witness or party who needs an outcome should ask the police officer in the case, the Witness Service or their solicitor.

Summoned for Jury Service at the Old Bailey

Jurors at the Old Bailey are court users, not gallery visitors. Bring your summons and follow its instructions about the entrance, timings and what to bring.

Jury service usually lasts up to 10 working days, according to GOV.UK's jury service guidance. Old Bailey trials can run much longer, though. If a long trial would cause real hardship, raise it with the jury office as early as you can.

Jurors must not research their case online. They must also never reveal what was said in the jury room, even after the trial ends.

Contact, Access and Getting to EC4M 7EH

The Old Bailey stands on the street of the same name in the City of London, postcode EC4M 7EH. Court staff run the hearings for HMCTS, while the City of London Corporation owns the building and runs its security.

Refreshments inside are for court users only, so public visitors should eat before arriving. Find a Court lists disabled access, an accessible toilet and disabled parking, each with prior notification, and a portable hearing enhancement system by arrangement.

Directions from your location: Google Maps · Apple Maps

Is the Old Bailey a Crown Court?

Yes. The Central Criminal Court is the formal name, and the Old Bailey is the name most people use for it. The judiciary's Crown Court page lists it among more than 70 Crown Court centres in England and Wales. The Recorder of London is its lead judge.

Before the first courthouse was built in the 16th century, sessions sat in hired rooms nearby or in Newgate prison, which stood on the site of the Roman west gate. The street outside gave the court its popular name. A second courtroom came in 1824, and an Act of Parliament ten years later stretched the court's reach into parts of Essex, Kent and Surrey.

The present building came from a competition. In 1898 the Royal Institute of British Architects invited six architects to submit plans. Edward Mountford won with a design meant to suit the nearby dome of St Paul's.

Work began in 1902 on the site of Newgate prison, and stones from the demolished prison went into the façade. King Edward VII opened the building in 1907 with four courts and 90 cells.

An air raid in 1941 caused extensive damage. Restoration, enlargement and further work in the 1960s and 1970s, including repairs after an IRA car bomb, brought the building to 18 courts. Every courthouse on the site has stood on the line of the Roman City wall, and a section of that wall survives in the basement.

Historic trial reports from 1674 to 1913 are searchable through the Old Bailey Proceedings Online project, which serves family historians rather than anyone checking a current case.

Other Courts Near the Old Bailey

Many City cases begin at the magistrates' court a short walk away, and appeals continue at the Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand. The courts below are the nearest to the Old Bailey, useful when a case started elsewhere or continues on appeal.

• City of London Magistrates' Court: many City cases start here before reaching the Crown Court
• Royal Courts of Justice: on the Strand; home of the Court of Appeal
• Upper Tribunal (Administrative Appeals Chamber), EC4A 1NL (0.6 km away)
• Upper Tribunal (Tax and Chancery Chamber), EC4A 1NL (0.6 km away)
• Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber), EC4A 1NL (0.6 km away)
• Mayor's and City of London Court, EC2V 5AR (0.7 km away)
• Royal Courts of Justice, WC2A 2LL (0.8 km away)

Old Bailey Questions People Ask

The questions below come up most often from people planning an Old Bailey visit, parents of teenagers, new jurors and anyone hunting for one case. For advice about your own case, speak to a solicitor, the Witness Service or the court office, since this page can only explain how the building and its lists work.