A SALE by auction is to be held next month of the West Somerset courthouse where the trial of former Liberal Party leader Jeremy Thorpe began.

Dubbed the political ‘trial of the century’ at the time, Thorpe was accused of conspiracy and incitement to murder ex-lover Norman Scott.

The case stemmed from the 1975 shooting of Scott’s great Dane dog Rinka at the top of Porlock Hill and eventually saw Thorpe and three other men go to trial in the Old Bailey, where they were acquitted.

However, they first went through several weeks of committal proceedings, where magistrates hear evidence in a case and decide if it is enough to justify a full trial, which were held in Minehead in late 1978.

While Thorpe was found not guilty by the Old Bailey jury, publicity around the case ended his political career.

He died, aged 85, in 2014.

Scott, who three years ago attended the Dulverton and Exmoor Literary Festival to talk about a book on his life, now lives on Dartmoor.

Now, the long-disused Minehead courtroom, which is part of the town’s former police station in Townsend Road, is for sale with a guide price of £550,000.

Avon and Somerset Constabulary is selling the 17,380 sq ft building after relocating the police station last year to new premises in Stephenson Road, opposite the town’s Tesco supermarket.

Auctioneers Hollis Morgan will take bids on July 23 for the property, which also includes the old police cells, a second, smaller courtroom, and two residential flats.

A spokesperson for Hollis Morgan said: “This large property and plot has scope for a wide range of residential or commercial development opportunities, subject to gaining the necessary consents.”

They said the £550,000 guide price was an indication of the seller’s current minimum acceptable price at auction.