1882 | Patrician residence to courthouse

In 1879, the house went to Groen van Prinsterer’s niece Elisabeth Philipse and her husband Bonifacius de Jonge, the president of the district court. The couple had no plans to live there and sold the house to the Dutch State in 1881, for 70,000 guilders. It was to be used by the justice ministry.

In 1882 the building became the new home of the district court. It had to be extensively remodelled to provide rooms suitable for conducting trials and housing offices. Two rooms on the first floor were combined and furnished to serve as a courtroom. The archives were moved to the attic and were only accessible by a narrow, steep staircase.

Despite complaints about the lack of space and other inconveniences, the court remained there until 1901. At that point it moved to the palace of Prince Frederik on Korte Voorhout, which had become free in the meantime. In the years that followed, the building housed various divisions of the Justice Ministry and was used for meetings of the Cabinet.