Police Station With Court Room

PORTLAND

SY6873 CASTLE ROAD, Fortuneswell 969-1/3/89 (East side) Police Station with Court Room

GV II

Police station with court room. dated 1904 and 1906. Rock faced Portland stone with ashlar dressings, slate roofs. A two-part composition with the gabled court room set back to left, and twin-gabled police station to right; beyond this former police housing, now Nos 1-3, Castle Road (qv). Court room has one-storey ante-room to balustraded parapet and central pedimented Doric portico flanked by plain sashes in architraves with keystones, including one sash on return. Good pair of panelled doors. Main gable, behind, with Palladian window having shell motif in arch, moulded surrounds and voussoir band, under coped gable. Left return has 4 lofty 2-light stone transomed and mullioned lights under coped gables linked by arch at rainwater outlets. Moulded cill band, 3 raking buttresses, cast-iron down pipes on lugs, and hopper heads dated 1906. On main ridge an octagonal leaded wood ventilation turret. Back wall with 3-light lofty mullioned sash, and steps down to boiler house; large brick stack at eaves. Police station has symmetrical twin-gabled front, central section slightly recessed above projecting flat-roofed porch on steps. Each coped gable has small vent above 3 plain sashes in flush chamfered surrounds, and at ground floor a tripartite sash with stone mullions. Square porch has panelled door to right, 2 sashes to street and one on left return; plain parapet has inscription 'County Police' to street front, above moulded string running full width of front. Near back of each ridge a brick stack. At back a sash centrally at each level, then, to right (N) a single-storey cell block in yellow brick, 7-windowed, with plain gable to E, 1 window to end of corridor; all lights small segmental-headed to heavy cills, and protective iron bars. Interior of court room with all original fittings, with 4-bay arch-braced roof to stone corbels, 5-panel doors in moulded architraves, and one with pulvinated frieze at E end; brass door handles. Royal Arms behind magistrate's chair. Police station retains original fireplaces and many good panelled doors in architraves. The cell block has 6 cells, two of these retaining original C19 pattern doors. This is a confidently detailed and presented building, holding an important position visually on the road rising from Victoria Square to Fortuneswell, and showing remarkable little change to its fabric.

Listing NGR: SY6845973769