Steelhouse Lane police stationis a former police station in centralBirmingham,England. It was built for theBirmingham City Policeand opened in 1933 as theirCentral Police Station,[1]replacing a Victorian station on the same site.[2]It was used by their successor, theWest Midlands Police,until 2017 where they transferred toLloyd House,also the force's HQ.[3][4]The carvings over the entrances, including thecoat of arms of Birmingham,are by the local sculptorWilliam Bloye.
The station sits on a plot of land at the rear of the formerVictoria Law Courts(now a magistrates' court), which was originally acquired for the extension of the court building.[1]It facesBirmingham Children's Hospital.
The 1933 station itself, inneo-Georgian style[1]is not a listed building, but the adjacent, late-nineteenth century cell block on the corner of Coleridge Passage was givenGrade II protectionon 8 July 1982 for its special architectural interest: the three-story building has a brick andterra cottafacade with many ornaments, and it has aslate roof.[5]The station sits in Birmingham City Council'sSteelhouse Lane conservation area,which was designated in October 1993.[1]A tunnel links the cell block to the courts.[2]
The City of Birmingham Orchestra, (later renamed theCity of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra) held its first rehearsal in the band room at the old station, at 9.30am on 4 September 1920.[6]For around sixty years, until closed in 2005, the station housed a private bar, allowing officers to drink when not on duty.[7]
The police station closed for the final time on Sunday 15 January 2017.[8]There are plans to relocate theWest Midlands Police Museumto the listed cell block.[9]
References
edit- ^abcdGoer, Matthew (14 August 2007).Steelhouse Lane Conservation Area Character Appraisal(PDF).Birmingham City Council.Retrieved24 March2014.
- ^ab"Birmingham's Hidden Spaces: What future for Steelhouse Lane's 'mini-prison'?".Birmingham Post.Retrieved24 March2014.
- ^"Announcement on police buildings in Birmingham".West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner.2013.Retrieved24 March2014.
- ^"BBC News - Three Birmingham police stations to close in savings plan".BBC Online.26 March 2013.Retrieved24 March2014.
- ^Historic England."Details from listed building database (1221212)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved24 March2014.
- ^Morley, Christopher (4 November 2010). "A glorious 90 years".The Birmingham Post.p. 4.
- ^"'Blow to morale' as bar forced to close ".Birmingham Post.29 December 2005. p. 3.Retrieved26 March2014.(subscription required)
- ^"Steelhouse Lane police station closes for final time".bbc.co.uk/news.Retrieved16 January2017.
- ^"Police museum takes a leap closer to reality".West Midlands Police.Retrieved15 September2019.
