A clever courthouse conversion is up for grabs on the edge of Norfolk for £650,000.

The Grade II-listed Old Courthouse in the town of Downham Market was built by architect Charles Reeves in 1850, and originally served as a Country Court and later a Magistrates. It heard its last case in 1992, after which the Norfolk property was shuttered and fell into disrepair – eventually ending up on the Buildings at Risk list.

Its current owners have completely transformed the grand Italianate building – and an adjoining police house built in 1810 – into a four-bedroom home set over 3,589 sq ft.

Cantilevered witness boxes and original panelling from the courtroom have been used to create a balcony study in the reception room, which has 22-ft-high ceilings and arched windows.

‘We kept the journalist box in the courtroom in place,’ says the owners. ‘It has drop-down desk tops within it which have been written on by numerous EDP and Lynn journalists over the years.’

Other original features inside the UK property – on the market via Fine & Country – include restored doors, an octagonal hall fitted with benches for those waiting to go into court, as well as the old police and courtyard signs.

Reeves designed 64 courts and 44 police stations across the UK during the course of his career. Downham Market is 1 hour and 20 minutes from London via train, and the property sits within its historic conservation area.

[Via The Guardian]