We are delighted to welcome Her Honour Wendy Joseph KC to Thornham Village Hall for the final Winter Warmer of this season. Her talk, Trials and Tribulations, promises to open the courtroom doors and offer a rare and compelling insight into life behind the bench at one of the world’s most famous criminal courts.
Wendy Joseph enjoyed a distinguished legal career spanning more than four decades. Called to the Bar by Gray’s Inn in 1975, she took silk in 1998 and became a full-time judge in 2007. From 2012 until her retirement in 2022 she sat on criminal trials at the Old Bailey, the Central Criminal Court of England and Wales. When she joined the court she was the only woman among sixteen judges and only the third woman ever to hold a permanent position there — a striking reminder of both her achievement and the changes she helped to witness during her time on the bench.
At the Old Bailey she presided mainly over allegations of murder and other homicide, dealing with some of the most serious cases in the criminal justice system. She has spoken openly about the wide range of crimes that came before her — from knife violence and gang-linked killings to tragic domestic homicides — and how these trials bring the human stories behind the headlines sharply into focus. Throughout her career, her aim has been to deepen public understanding of how justice works and what it means for everyone involved.
Since retiring, Wendy Joseph has become a bestselling author, drawing on her years on the bench to make the courtroom and the law more accessible to a wider audience. Her books, Unlawful Killings and Rough Justice, use composite and anonymised accounts of gripping trials she presided over to explore how the legal system operates and what it means for defendants, victims and society as a whole. In Rough Justice, she examines how our courts deal with serious crime and the impact of the law on the most vulnerable.
Her talk, Trials and Tribulations, will invite us into that world, sharing powerful stories and reflections on what it is like to make difficult decisions from the bench and how the courts seek to balance justice, humanity and public confidence.
To set the scene for what’s to come, here’s a short film of Wendy Joseph in conversation, reflecting on her time at the Old Bailey and the lessons she draws from a lifetime in the law:
In this video Wendy Joseph discusses some of the deeper questions that motivated her throughout her career — from how judges make sense of complex evidence to the human impact of the decisions they make every day. It’s a great introduction to the themes she will explore in her talk on 27 February.
The evening will be followed by a two-course meal, offering the chance to continue conversations in a warm and convivial setting. The main course will be provided by The Orange Tree, with dessert from The North Norfolk Catering Company, and tickets include a welcome drink to enjoy before the meal.
Practical details
Date: Friday 27 February
Timings: 6.30 pm | Talk: 7 pm | Dinner: approx. 8 pm
Venue: Thornham Village Hall
Tickets: £30 each, including a welcome drink and two-course meal
Booking: tickets can be booked here
This Winter Warmer promises a memorable evening of thought-provoking discussion, delicious food and good company as we bring the season to a close. We very much look forward to welcoming you.