Police And Fire Station

Police and fire station, built between 1901 and 1906 by Woodhouse, Willoughby and Langham. The building is a large, irregular quadrilateral shape arranged around a central courtyard, situated on a triangular island site. It is constructed from red brick with extensive yellow terracotta dressings, topped with slate roofs. The architectural style is exuberant Edwardian Baroque, featuring turrets, domes, corner tourelles, and a prominent south-east tower with a domed belfry.

The building rises to four and three storeys, with attics, and has a facade of 3:1:4:1:4:1:3 bays along London Road, which is symmetrical in design. The central four-storey section is flanked by three-storey wings. The ground floor is banded with terracotta, and the building features a heavily modillioned eaves cornice. A giant, round-headed archway spans the central range, surrounded by banded terracotta and an inner lintel inscribed "FIRE AND POLICE STATION." Large square windows are at ground floor level, coupled windows at the first floor, and a giant colonnaded screen extends across the second and third floors, featuring coupled columns on pedestals. Round-headed windows are on the second floor, and coupled windows on the third. A plain frieze and moulded cornice are followed by a balustraded parapet with a central upstand inscribed "ERECTED ANNO DOMINI MDCCCCV." The end turrets are topped with Baroque cupolas, each with life-sized terracotta statues seated at the corners. The three-bay wings echo the main design, with central windows featuring elaborate architraves, including balconies on the first floor, a domed turret to the left, and a corner tourelle to the right.

The long facades along Fairfield Street (to the left) and Whitworth Street (to the right) share a similar style, albeit without the colonnade and cupolas. They incorporate four open-pedimented bays (segmental on Whitworth Street) and a series of round-headed arched fire-engine doorways along Fairfield Street. The narrower west end is slightly simpler in design.

The inner courtyard contains iron balconies on three levels, serving domestic accommodation. The Art Nouveau style standards add to the aesthetic. The building is a notable example of the period, retaining a high degree of original detail and is in unusually complete condition.