Central Criminal Court, Old Bailey EC4

Three bas-reliefs by Alfred Turner appear in the central portico of the Old Bailey. Turner was another sculptor with long-standing associations with the architect E.W. Mountford, but it seems that he may have got the commission via Frederick Pomeroy, who may have felt himself unable to take on all the sculpture for the building.
The panels are said to illustrate the quotation from Psalm 72 on the entablature: "Defend the children of the poor and punish the wrong-doer".
The central panel, however, seems to have little to do with retributive justice. An angel representing the Earth and the peoples thereof holds and armillary sphere and points down towards the building's main entrance. She is flanked by Spring sowing seed from a basket and Autumn holding a sickle and a sheaf of wheat.
The left panel is much more relevant - a mightily-muscled angel with drawn sword defends a woman and her children.

The right panel is a bit confusing. A even more muscly man with a truly heroic sword brandishes the decapitated head of Medusa, while behind him lies the corpse of a huge dragon. His shield is held by a buxom lass in what looks like a chain mail bra. She is looking adoringly in his direction - if he plays his cards right, he luck is in tonight.

The iconography is baffling, however. Is this guy Perseus, Siefried or St George? Turner was a big Wagner fan, according to Philip Ward-Jackson in Public Sculpture of the City of London, which explains the woman's Brunnhilde outfit, but the intended import of the piece seems to be unrecorded.

Central Criminal Court, Old Bailey EC4

These voluptuous beauties adorn the roofline pediments of Mountford's masterpiece. They were also carved by Frederick Pomeroy, but apparently they are not identified in the drawings. The figure on the north pediment (above) holds a sword in her right hand and a book in her left, open at pages marked VI and VIII. There does not appear to be any writing on the pages, but if the numbers are Commandments they would prohibit murder and stealing respectively, which would seem appropriate. But why isn't the IX Commandment included? There has been a formidable amount of bearing false witness in the Old Bailey over the last century. Coveting (the X Commandment) was not illegal in 1906 but in today's frenzy to ban everything it probably is now. Of course, if you exchanged covetous remarks with a friend in the pub, that would be conspiracy, a serious felony.
The figure on the south pediment (below) has a couple of closed ledgers and a quill pen. Presumably these are everyone's criminal records, closed and unalterable for final consulation at the Day of Judgement.

Central Criminal Court, Old Bailey EC4

The bronze figure of Justice stands on her dome, gleaming in her sheath of gold leaf, her outstretched arms holding her sword and balance. But no blindfold - the idea that justice is blind actually derives from 16th century satires on corrupt and incompetent judges, including a woodcut by Durer showing Justice being blindfolded by a fool. It is very curious how the original jibe morphed into the noble figure of Justice blind to riches, power or outside appearances.
The sculptor was Frederick W. Pomeroy, a Londoner had worked closely with the architect Edward Mountford on buildings such as Sheffield Town Hall. The 1905 commission for the Central Criminal Court gave both men the chance to produce one of London's most instantly recognisable images.
Mountford decided at the last moment that Pomeroy's design was too small for the prominent position, and ordered him to make it a good deal bigger. Unfortunately, that meant the structure underneath had to be beefed up at an extra cost of £267 4s 5d, which Mountford had to explain in a letter to the committee in charge of the building.
Pomeroy also had to change his design for the allegorical figures over the main entrance. The original drawings show the figures of Fortitude, Truth and the Recording Angel inside the arched pediment, but the committee wanted the arms of the City of London there so the statues were bumped up to their slightly precarious seat on top.
The Recording Angel is a rather sinister figure writing on a scroll spread over her knees, her face shadowed by a huge cowl. On her left, Fortitude has a sword (for war) and a dove (for peace). To her right, Truth looks in a mirror.