Police Station And Magistrates Court

Police Station and Magistrates Court

A law court and police station built between 1899 and 1900 to designs by Robert Burns Dick of Newcastle. The building was constructed between June 1899 and 1901, with the contractors being Messrs. Bruce and Sons of Kelso and the masons Messrs. Forrest of Edinburgh. The design was selected through a competition in May 1898 from a total of 37 schemes. The building was formally opened on 31st May 1901 by the Mayor, Magistrates and Town Council after a municipal procession.

Materials and Setting

The main elevation is built in ashlar sandstone with a rock-faced sandstone plinth. The rear elevation is snecked sandstone. The roof is slate. The building sits on a rectangular plan with a tower at the left fronting onto Castle Street, on a site which slopes to the right.

Exterior

The main elevation on Church Street has five bays and two storeys, with the fifth bay formed by a three-stage stair tower. The ground floor of the tower contains an entrance with wooden double doors and a bracketed arched hood on raised columns, with the word 'MAGISTRATES' above indicating the magistrates' entry to the first-floor court. The tall second stage has paired slits and the upper stage has short columns supporting a high domed pyramidal roof.

To the right is a three-bay section with a central entrance in a Gibbs Surround with segmental hood and lettering reading 'POLICE' above, indicating the entrance to the police station. Ground-floor windows in this section are mullioned with half glazing bars, and first-floor windows are similar with slightly bowed fronts. The wide right end bay projects and has a ground-floor mullioned window formed of Doric columns, a bracketed niche at first-floor level (now missing its statue) and a shaped pediment bearing the carved Berwick coat of arms.

The right return features a police entrance to the court with a bracketed segmental arched hood, three-light mullioned windows above and an oriel window to the left. To the right, the domestic character of the former Superintendent's house is evident, with hipped roofs and plain two-pane horned sash windows. Later extensions to the left end and rear are not of special interest.

Interior

Ground Floor: Original double doors give entry to the police station. There are three original cells with original doors remaining, accessed off an original truncated corridor. The remainder of the police station layout has been altered.

First Floor: The court retains its original layout with a rear court room and offices to the front, accessed off a large hall reached by the main stair from Church Street. The stair continues to the upper floor and former gallery with metal balusters and a ramped wooden hand rail. The court offices retain original ceilings above suspended ceilings and their original layout is largely preserved. Original features include decorative window arches, panelling and arched entrances to adjacent rooms.

The court room, with an open pediment, has pitch pine panelled walls to dado level and above this they are divided by Ionic pilasters between paired windows with Doric columns. There is a segmental panelled plaster ceiling. Other fixtures and fittings, including original desks and benches, are also of pitched pine. A raised Magistrates' bench is situated at the west end with an ornate wooden canopy carried on Doric columns bearing the Berwick coat of arms. The former public gallery has been removed and the space partially infilled, and the original central dock has been replaced by a modern example set to one side.

The building was ventilated by means of a fan driven by a gas-powered hot air engine.

History and Architect

The architect, Robert Burns Dick (1868-1959), was the son of a Newcastle innkeeper and brewer's agent. His design was selected through competition in May 1898. In 1898, he entered into partnership with James Cackett. Together they designed more than twenty listed buildings, mostly in the north-east, and were responsible for several local landmarks including the Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle-upon-Tyne (1903-4), the towers of the Tyne Road Bridge, Newcastle-upon-Tyne (1924-8), and Spanish City, Whitley Bay (1908-10). All three are listed at Grade II. The partnership also designed the Grade II* listed police station and court in Newcastle (1931-3). Outside the north-east, Burns Dick designed the Grade II listed police station and court in Warrington (1889-1900).

Original plans depict the layout with a ground-floor police station and first-floor court, a Superintendent's house to the rear, and a large open space for drill and recreational purposes.