Former Fire Station

FORMER FIRE STATION

This complex fire station stands on Renfrew Road and consists of three main sections built in different periods. The earliest section was built in 1868 for the Metropolitan Fire Brigade, designed by architect Edward Cresy. The principal centrepiece and much of the complex was constructed in 1896 for the London County Council, designed by architects Robert Pearsall and his assistants.

The buildings are constructed of stock brick and red brick with decorative red brick and stone banding and red brick dressings. The 1896 section features elaborate stone decorations. All sections are roofed in slate with tall stacks rising prominently.

The 1896 centrepiece housed the engine room with a watch room to the left and recreation room to the right. Rear stables provided accommodation for the Superintendent and Foreman, positioned facing Renfrew Road. A first-floor dormitory for single firemen occupied the rear, while sets of three rooms (living kitchen, scullery and bedroom) provided accommodation for married firemen. The 1868 block to the left contains similar married firemen accommodation throughout, with an attached coach house to the rear containing comparable suites for married coachmen. The right section was adapted as storage for long ladders and vans, with a first-floor wash house and drying room above.

Architecturally, the tripartite composition is clearly expressed. The centrepiece, four storeys with a high attic, is characterized by a distinctive neo-Jacobean style typical of London fire stations of the period. Two large round-arched openings denote the central engine house, now sympathetically blocked with casement windows, with a small door to the left. Red brick and stone banding links these to small round-headed windows with voussoirs to the right. Above are sashes with six small lights in the upper sash and a single glazing bar to the lower sash, each with aprons below. The first floor features a heavy band, the second storey has keystones, and the third storey displays elaborate round-arched tops from which the centrepiece rises between volutes, with a Diocletian window and pedimented gable.

Behind the centrepiece, the hose hoist and watchtower repeats this banded decorative spirit, with volutes marking the transition from square to octagonal form, then a round moulding as it steps again from octagonal to round at the top.

The left accommodation block has ground-floor windows set in arcaded surrounds with keystones and gauged brickwork. First-floor round-arched sashes sit in slightly pointed brick surrounds, while second-floor sashes contain small panes in the top sash beneath gauged brick heads. A moulded brick cornice, bands of red brickwork to upper floors, and stone bands to first and ground floors characterize this elevation. One round window appears to the right of this block. Side and rear elevations are simpler but follow similar fenestration patterns.

The right section, the long ladder and van store, retains a coach entrance now blocked with windows and double door, with blocked windows in the gable above and sash windows in the side elevation to the yard.

Although interiors were not inspected in detail, the building is noted to retain original fireplaces and doors. Ladder access to the tower and hose hoist is provided.

This is a rare surviving example of a London fire station from 1868, enhanced by its recasting with a fine Jacobean-style centrepiece and tower. It forms a distinctive group with the adjoining former court house.