Queen Elizabeth II
21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022
The Queen officially opened the Rolls Building, the new home of the Business and Property Courts, in December 2011 and, as the photograph below shows, she signed the ceremonial scroll marking the occasion in the company of the then Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge. The signing ceremony took place in front of the London Panorama artwork that the recently formed Rolls Building Art & Education Trust had commissioned.
The Chairman, Geoffrey Bond, Secretary, Stephen Fash and the founding Trustees of the RBAET were privileged to meet the Queen on that day. Her dedication and commitment to engage with everyone she met was evident in the way she spoke not just to the judges and the dignitaries but to all the staff lined up to greet her.
The Rolls Building opened in October 2011 as the new home of the Chancery Division, the Admiralty and Commercial Court and the Technology and Construction Court, now known collectively as the Business and Property Courts. With 31 court rooms, including 3 ‘super courts’, the Rolls Building is the largest specialist centre for the resolution of financial, business and property litigation in the world. The Rolls Building Art & Education Trust (RBAET) has been set up to use art works and historical items to promote awareness of the law and the business-related justice system among young people. It is a registered charity and entirely independent of the Royal Courts of Justice Group, of which the Rolls Building is part. Under the Chairmanship of Geoffrey Bond OBE DL the Trust commissioned, through its own fundraising, works by Nick McCann, whose updating of the Rhinebeck Panorama of early 19th century London fills the entrance foyer, and Neil Roland, whose photographic reflections on familiar City scenes depict them in new and intriguing ways. The Trust has, on loan, several large-scale drawings of Ballroom interiors from artists associated with the Prince’s Drawing School and has acquired a drawing of London Bridge from one of these artists, Christopher Green. Please go to Art and Artefacts for further details of these and other works on display at the Rolls Building. The RBAET also curates various historical artefacts including the Admiralty Oar and the Letters Patent and Seals of Thomas Edward Scrutton (1856 – 1934) who was a key figure in the development of the Commercial Court.
The Trust works with the National Justice Museum, who run educational activities for schools and colleges at the Royal Courts of Justice, to provide an educational programme for the Rolls Building. This links to the jurisdictions at the Rolls Building and draws on the cues provided by the works of art and artefacts (there are, for example, case references to be found in the Nick McCann work) to provide case studies for students to discuss. The aim is to educate young people about these important areas of civil law and also, through meeting High Court Judges, to open their eyes to the possibility of a career in law. As Geoffrey Bond notes – “The Trust was not formed simply to raise money to put art on the walls of this splendid new building – important though that is – but to link this firmly to educating young people about the law.” In addition to the NJM programme the Trust arranges placements, through the Sutton Trust’s Pathways to Law scheme, for students from state schools who are interested in a career in law and who will be first generation attendees at university. This provides an opportunity for participants to shadow a High Court Judge at the Rolls Building for one or two days.
The Trust welcomes donations and offers of support. It is a registered charity and therefore able to benefit from gift aid arrangements. Further information can be obtained from the RBAET Secretary, Stephen Fash, at stephenfash@rollsart.org.
You can view our film explaining the work of the Trust by clicking on this button:
