Late 20th century legal buildings in post-modern style. Harman and Minnis (2004) were less than complimentary about its architecture, declaring the result "as pompous as it is graceless" (p163). The main building was added to in 2003 with the addition of a more restrained family court annexe. Archaeological evaluation by Northamptonshire Archaeology (2002) on the site of the family law court building showed that the earliest buildings on site had been constructed along the West Bar frontage in the late 18th century with the rest of the site developed during the early 19th century. The buildings shown on the 1851 OS plan were reasonably well preserved and consisted of small houses, a public house and yards with outbuildings. There was good evidence for small scale craft activity in the yard area. These 19th century buildings had been largely cleared by the early 20th century. Much of the site remained vacant until the present development. Invisible legibility of earlier types.