You will soon be able to stand in the very trial dock where Oscar Wilde stood trial, after funding was secured to restore it.
Funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund will support the conservation and reopening of the original dock from Court No.2 at Bow Street Magistrates’ Court – the place where Wilde appeared following his arrest in April 1895, ahead of his trial at the Old Bailey for “gross indecency”.
His prosecution and imprisonment would become one of the most notorious legal cases of the Victorian era, symbolising the criminalisation of same-sex relationships in Britain.
The restoration, which will be carried out by the Bow Street Museum of Crime and Justice, forms the centrepiece of a new project, Echoes from the Dock, which takes Wilde’s committal hearing as its starting point. Used for more than 125 years, the dock saw thousands of defendants pass through Bow Street, but Wilde’s appearance there remains its most historically resonant moment.
Conservation work will take place on site at the museum, with visitors able to see the dock being preserved in real time.
Once complete, the project will also enable physical access to the dock itself, allowing the public to once again stand in the same place as Wilde and others who faced the magistrates passing judgment on them.
Wilde’s fall was swift. On 14th February 1895, The Importance of Being Earnest premiered in London to critical acclaim; less than two months later, he was under arrest. His appearance at Bow Street marked the beginning of a legal process that ended in conviction, imprisonment and exile, leaving a lasting mark on British cultural and legal history.
Using the restored dock as a focal point, the museum will develop a new exhibition exploring how Wilde’s trial echoes through the present day. Working with LGBTQ+ community partners, the project will examine how laws, attitudes and lived experiences have changed since the late nineteenth century.
The Exhibition will launch in late 2026.
