Old Fire Station

This building, now a theatre centre, was originally a fire station, built in 1881. It was designed by the Metropolitan Board of Works Architect's Department, likely by Robert Pearsall, in a Gothic style. The building is constructed of red brick in Flemish bond, with a tiled roof. It is three storeys high, with attics, and has eight windows across the front. Four tall, ribbed brick chimney stacks are present. The attic storey has four gables with stone kneelers, and contains two paired eight-pane sashes at each end and two single eight-pane sashes in the centre. A stone band runs below the attic, featuring corbels. The second floor contains eight eight-pane sashes; the first floor has eight similar sashes with arched lintels, interrupting a moulded terracotta band. The ground floor features triple eight-pane windows on each side, with drip mouldings. A projecting porch with a gable, surmounted by a finial in the centre and finials at the sides, sits centrally, and contains two wide doors flanked by colonnettes. A tall, octagonal watch tower is a prominent feature on the right side of the building, with corbelling and lancet windows. Inside, a wooden staircase has stick balusters. In 1913, the fire station housed a station officer, nine firemen, two coachmen, two pairs of horses, a horsed fire engine, a horsed escape, a manual escape, and a hose cart. It later became redundant and was replaced by a station on Norwood Road.