List Entry Summary
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
Name: POLICE AND FIRE STATION
List Entry Number: 1197918
Location
POLICE AND FIRE STATION, LONDON ROAD
The building may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
County:
District: Manchester
District Type: Metropolitan Authority
Parish: Non Civil Parish
National Park: Not applicable to this List entry.
Grade: II*
Date first listed: 03-Oct-1974
Date of most recent amendment: Not applicable to this List entry.
Legacy System Information
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System: LBS
UID: 388288
Asset Groupings
This List entry does not comprise part of an Asset Grouping. Asset Groupings are not part of the official record but are added later for information.
List Entry Description
Summary of Building
Legacy Record - This information may be included in the List Entry Details.
Reasons for Designation
Legacy Record - This information may be included in the List Entry Details.
History
Legacy Record - This information may be included in the List Entry Details.
Details
MANCHESTER
SJ8497SE LONDON ROAD
698-1/20/224 (West side)
03/10/74 Police and Fire Station
GV II*
Police and fire station. 1901-6, by Woodhouse, Willoughby and
Langham. Red brick with liberal dressings of yellow
terracotta, slate roofs. Very large irregular quadrilateral
plan round a central courtyard, on triangular island site.
Ebullient Edwardian Baroque style, with turrets, domes, corner
tourelles, and tall south-east tower with domed belfry. Four
and 3 storeys, with attics, 3:1:4:1:4:1:3 bays to London Road,
symmetrical, with 4-storey 11-bay centre flanked by 3-storey
3-bay wings, banded terracotta ground floor, modillioned eaves
cornice. The 4-storey main range has a giant round-headed
central archway with banded surround and inner lintel lettered
"FIRE AND POLICE STATION", large square windows at ground
floor, coupled windows at 1st floor, a giant colonnaded screen
to the 2nd and 3rd floors with coupled columns on pedestals,
round-headed windows to 2nd floor and coupled windows to 3rd
floor, plain frieze and moulded cornice, a balustraded parapet
with central upstand lettered "ERECTED ANNO DOMINI MDCCCCV",
and end turrets finished with Baroque cupolas which have
life-sized terracotta statues seated at the corners. The 3-bay
wings, in similar style, have (inter alia) central windows
with elaborate architraves including balconies at 1st floor, a
domed turret to the left and a corner tourelles to the right.
The very long facades to Fairfield Street (left return) and
Whitworth Street (right return) are in generally similar style
(without the colonnade and cupolas), but including 4
open-pedimented bays (segmental in Whitworth Street) and with
a series of round-headed arched fire-engine doorways to
Fairfield Street; and the narrow west end is slightly simpler.
The inner courtyard has (inter alia) iron balconies to 3
levels of the 3 main ranges (serving domestic accommodation),
with standards in Art Nouveau style. An ambitious building
with much good detail of the period, in unusually complete
condition.
Listing NGR: SJ8466497798
Selected Sources
Legacy Record - This information may be included in the List Entry Details
Map
National Grid Reference: SJ 84664 97798
The below map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. For a copy of the full scale map, please see the attached PDF - 1197918.pdf - Please be aware that it may take a few minutes for the download to complete.
© Crown Copyright and database right 2018. All rights reserved. Ordnance Survey Licence number 100024900.
© British Crown and SeaZone Solutions Limited 2018. All rights reserved. Licence number 102006.006.
This copy shows the entry on 28-Mar-2024 at 06:21:40.