Woolwich Fire Station

Woolwich Fire Station

Fire station built in 1887 by the Fire Brigade Branch of the Metropolitan Board of Works, with chief architect Alfred Mott and job architect Robert Pearsall. A further extension was added around 1910 by the Fire Brigade Branch of the London County Council Architects Department, with minor later alterations made afterwards.

The building is constructed in stock brick with red brick and stone details, and has a renewed tile roof with tall brick stacks.

The façade features the original block of three appliance bays to the right, with an extension of one bay to the left containing a canted bay window with stone mullion and transoms. The appliance bays have moulded segmental arched openings with terracotta diapering in the spandrels, flanked by buttresses with stone pinnacles. The central two openings remain as appliance bays (though the doors have been replaced), and the bay to the right was converted to a public entrance and control room some time ago. The first floor contains pairs of sash windows in the 1887 section and a trio in the circa 1910 section. A fourth pair of sashes sits in the central gable of the older section, flanked by red brick pilasters or ribs terminating in pinnacles, which continue vertically from the ground floor buttresses. Metal lettering reading 'AD / 1887' is affixed to the gable, set into a segmental arch of rubbed red brick. Two gabled dormers breaking through the eaves—one in the extension and one in the adjoining bay of the older portion—are both additions of 1910. All windows are modern timber sashes replicating the originals. Rising behind the roof ridge to the right is a striking five-storey round watchtower on an octagonal base, with windows under moulded heads. This is a rare surviving feature notable for its height. To the rear, tall sash windows with rubbed red brick flat arches on the northern return and sections of the rear ground floor date from the 1887 build. The upper storeys appear to have been rebuilt during the circa 1910 extension; window openings here have headers arranged in a segmental arch with tile sills. Single storey storage sheds in the yard retain their original doors and contribute to the special interest of the building.

Interior features contributing to the special interest include the ground floor of the circa 1910 extension (formerly the mess room), which has arched alcoves possibly once containing seats, a large arch to the bay window, dado panelling and a fireplace with tiled surround. The appliance room is lined with glazed bricks with a decorative tile frieze. The staircase retains its original handrail. The sliding pole houses retain some of their original doors. The accommodation on the first and second floors retains its original plan form, comprising individual rooms for single firemen and small apartments for married firemen and the station officer, along with a number of fireplaces with timber surrounds, some built-in cupboards and a safe. Numerous original timber doors survive. The tower is of particular interest, retaining its timber hose-drying chamber, cleverly positioned in the central well of the staircase leading to the lookout post.

Fire services in London emerged principally from the need for insurance providers to limit losses from building damage following the Great Fire of 1666. Initially each insurer maintained a separate brigade serving only subscribers until an integrated service was founded in 1833, funded by City businesses. In 1866, following an Act of Parliament of the previous year, the Metropolitan Fire Brigade was established as the first publicly-funded authority charged with saving lives and protecting buildings from fire. Under its first Captain, Eyre Massey Shaw, the Brigade undertook an ambitious expansion programme, which included a station at Woolwich built near the present station in 1868, now demolished. By the 1870s, a distinctive fire station type as an identifiable landmark building had emerged, replacing the previous practice of adapting or emulating domestic buildings. The use of the Gothic style became more elaborate in the 1880s under the influence of Metropolitan Board of Works architect Robert Pearsall who, after 1889, headed the new Fire Brigade Section of the London County Council. Woolwich Fire Station of 1887, which replaced the earlier station, exemplifies Pearsall's work and is now quite rare, as only a small number of his stations survive. Derived from the influential plan of Southwark Station, Woolwich is romantic in its detailing, including pinnacles, buttresses and terracotta decoration, and features a striking watchtower. Of other Pearsall stations—Holborn, West Norwood, Kentish Town, Shadwell, North Kensington and Camden Town—all have been demolished. Only Tooley Street, Bishopsgate and Stoke Newington survive, all but the last being listed Grade II.