Former Police Station

This former police station complex, built in narrow red brick laid in various bonds with red sandstone ashlar and dressings, has red plain tile roofs with tile bonnets and ridges.

Layout

The main building faces south and comprises a two-storey office range with a taller block to the rear (north) incorporating the custody suite on the ground floor and parade hall above. The forecourt to the front of the main building is flanked by two police houses: number 1 to the east and number 2 to the west, both projecting forward and connected to the main office range via small, single-storey link buildings. To the north of the western house stands a mirrored pair of semi-detached houses, numbers 3 and 4, which face west and are now interconnected to the main building via later extensions to their south and east. Further north is the fifth police house, number 5, which is detached but linked to the rest via a garden wall.

Several flat-roofed buildings and extensions lie to the rear and sides of the central office range. The post-1990 infill buildings to the rear of houses 1 and 2 have hipped roofs. These later additions are not of special interest, although the infill buildings with hipped roofs are sympathetically detailed.

Main Building

The original buildings are of two storeys and generally have a simple stone plinth, a first-floor storey band and a string course above at window sill level. Windows are generally horned sashes with narrow glazing bars (typically six over six panes), with gauged brick flat arch lintels, some with stone keystones or architraves. Domestic windows typically have stone cills. Low-status doorways have gauged brick lintels, whilst higher-status doors are furnished with stone surrounds featuring eared architraves topped by a cornice. The doors are panelled and part-glazed with decoratively leaded overlights. All chimney stacks remain full height and are tall, brick-built with plinths and cornices.

The interiors appear to have been generally simply finished. All fireplaces have been removed, but chimney breasts generally remain. Most internal doors have been replaced with modern fire doors (normally retaining the original architraves), although a number of original panelled doors remain in situ, mostly on the first floor of the main building. All of the police houses retain various built-in cupboards, usually complete with original panelled doors. All staircases survive with original balustrading, hardwood newel posts and handrails.

Exterior

The symmetrical south elevation is of thirteen bays, the ground floor being of rusticated ashlar, the first floor of brick with a stone cornice. The centre bay includes the main entrance, which is inset behind a round-arched opening. Above the double doors (which are modern replacements) is a carved keystone in the form of a bearded man's head, considered to symbolise Wisdom. The entrance is flanked by ornate lanterns on wall brackets. Above is a balcony which includes the heraldic insignia of the West Riding Police carved in stone and forming part of the balustrade. The first-floor window above has an ornamented stone architrave. The three bays to either side of the centre have round-arched ground-floor windows and first-floor windows with stone keystones but no architraves. Rainwater downpipes are also made an architectural feature here by being rectangular in section with decorated hoppers. The three bays at either end of the elevation are broken slightly forward, with the centre bay of each emphasised with an architraved first-floor window and a keystoned ground-floor window carved with a female head. The eastern carved head is blindfolded (a traditional representation of Justice); the western head includes a pair of serpents, considered to symbolise the virtue of Prudence. The rusticated ashlar stonework continues to project forward to form the single-storey link buildings to the flanking police houses. These single-bay link buildings each include a side-facing doorway and are topped by an ornamental stone urn. To the rear, set back from the main elevation, is a two-storey flat-roofed projection with a circular window (these flat-roofed sections being part of the original building).

Side and rear elevations are mainly covered by later extensions that are not of special interest, although what is exposed of the original building (generally on the first floor) is more simply detailed but generally unaltered.

Interior

The interior has been reordered, especially inside the central entrance and within the rear custody suite. However, the two staircases remain: that at the east end of the rear block is an open-well staircase with an ornate iron balustrade; that at the west end is much more utilitarian. The first-floor corridor is largely intact, complete with two roof lights incorporating stained glass and a number of panelled doors. First-floor rooms to the front, originally individual bedrooms for single constables, have been knocked through. The parade room to the rear has been partially subdivided with stud partitions.

Police House 1

Exterior

The three-bay front faces south, with a central entrance with stone architrave flanked by ground-floor canted bay windows. The west elevation (facing the forecourt) includes a ground-floor round window. The house has a square footprint.

Interior

The front door opens into an internal wind lobby (missing its inner door). The generous staircase is to the rear left and has twisted balusters. The original room layout is effectively unaltered with the exception of inserted doorways through to the post-1990 infill building to the rear.

Police House 2

Exterior

Similar to Number 1 but without the round window and with slightly different side elevations. The house was originally L-shaped, although this is concealed by the post-1990 infill building to the rear.

Interior

The front door opens onto the foot of the stairs, which is relatively plain with stick balusters. The interior layout is unaltered. There is no direct interconnection with the infill building to the rear.

Police Houses 3 and 4

Exterior

This semi-detached symmetrical pair of double-fronted houses has the front (west elevation) more simply detailed than the other houses, lacking the storey band and the architraves around the front doors. Above the front doors are round windows which light the staircases. Sides are blind; the rear is obscured by later extensions that are not of special interest.

Interior

In each property, the front door opens up onto the rear of the staircase, which is otherwise similar to that in number 2. Apart from the staircase, the layout is altered, especially on the first floor, which has been reorganised with some removed walls (including the party wall) and inserted partitions. The interiors also interconnect with the later infill buildings to the south and east.

Police House 5

Exterior

This unaltered, L-shaped house faces west. The front door (complete with architrave) is set in the west face of the south-projecting wing and has a round (bathroom) window above. The west-projecting wing is of two bays with keystones emboldening the ground-floor windows. The south elevation of the west wing is blind; the south elevation of the south wing is asymmetric, three bays wide but blind to upper left. The east elevation is also asymmetric and more utilitarian with a back door and access to an external store. The north elevation is blind except for the stair window.

Interior

The front door opens into a wind lobby with a part-glazed inner door and partition embellished with stained glass. This leads through to the stair hall with its half-landing staircase. The interior layout remains largely unaltered.

Subsidiary Items

Garden wall linking Police Houses 4 and 5: This high garden wall includes a gateway protected by a hipped roof retaining an ornamental iron gate.

Boundary wall, railings, gates and gate piers: The south and west sides of the whole plot are bounded by a low brick wall topped by ornamental railings. This is punctuated by ornamental pedestrian gates serving each front door as well as additional gates through the west boundary, thought to have been garden entrances. To the centre of the south boundary, giving access to the forecourt, is a vehicle access with ornamental gates hung from piers topped by stone urns. To the east is a driveway leading to the rear, marked by simple brick piers with stone caps.

The mapped depiction of the listing does not attempt to exclude the later extensions that are not of special interest. The mapped depiction of boundary walls with gateways is shown diagrammatically to aid identification.