1 London Street (former Coroner’s Court)

This former police station and petty sessions court was built in 1862 in the Venetian Gothic style by Poulton and Woodman of Reading. It was reconstructed in 1983 and subsequently converted to office use. Today, only the west and part of the north facades, along with iron railings along the north and west boundaries, remain of the original building.

The western range is faced in stucco, while the later 20th-century eastern range is red brick with stone or concrete dressings. Both ranges are topped with tile-clad mansard roofs. The building largely follows the original layout, with a long, narrow western range and a wider, L-shaped eastern range extending towards the River Kennet.

The retained 1860s north façade is three storeys and spans five bays to the north and one bay to the west. The north elevation features alternating wider and narrower bays, with the two end bays emphasized by giant order Corinthian pilasters that rise through all floors and are rusticated on the ground floor. Elaborate Venetian Gothic motifs decorate the façade, with particularly ornate window surrounds on the first floor: half-columns with floral capitals rise to cusped, two-centred arches, with floral details within the tympanum. The second-floor windows have Classical window architraves with moulded cills and seven modillions, rising to a dentilled cornice. Modern timber sash windows fill each floor; ground-floor windows are tripartite with a central six-over-six sash and narrower six-over-six sashes, while the first-floor sashes have six-over-six glazing and the second-floor sashes have three-over-three glazing. The single-bay western elevation, facing London Street, reflects the design of the north bays and includes tripartite windows on the ground floor. A tall parapet with simple moulding and square piers defines each bay above.

Iron, spearhead railings with a pair of gates, which may be replicas of the originals, run north from the retained north facade and along the River Kennet. Behind and to the east of the retained 1860s facades is a late 20th-century three-storey red-brick building with a large mansard level, featuring stone or concrete dressings.