Market Harborough Ambulance Station

Summary

Former ambulance station built in 1924 and designed in a Queen Anne Revival style by H G Coales.

Reasons for Designation

The ambulance station at Market Harborough, designed by H G Coales, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* as a rare example of a purpose-built St John Ambulance station erected in 1924 which competently expresses the needs of an ambulance station of this period in its design and composition;
* for the legibility of its historic plan form;
* for the quality of its architectural detailing, particular to the principal façade which employs rubbed and glazed brickwork, glazed tiles and Classical architectural features;
* for the good survival of fixtures and fittings, with the survival of the garage doors being an exceptional survival.

Historic interest:

* for its illustration of the national development of the ambulance service after the First World War and its contribution to our specific understanding of the St John Ambulance provision in the inter-war period;
* as part of the municipal development of Market Harborough in the early to mid-C20, of which the architect H G Coales was a leading figure.

Group value:

* together with the Grade-II listed fire station and the associated firefighters’ houses, both designed by Coales and Johnson, it forms an important group of associated municipal buildings which illustrate the historic provision of emergency services in this market town.

History

The first ambulance vehicles began to appear, in London at least, in the late 1860s. However, as there was no national ambulance provision until the National Health Service Act in 1946 made the transportation of patients a local authority responsibility, ambulance stations were variously constructed by hospitals, public bodies, the military, local government, and charities, resulting in a wide range in the types of ambulance stations being built. These varied from the early “stations” which were merely cabinets or rooms in existing buildings, or sheds attached to police or fire stations (both of which provided easy access to equipment), to those built as part of a hospital site, to the temporary and later more permanent utilitarian structures erected by local authorities and the military, to the more architecturally ambitious designs of St John Ambulance.

St John Ambulance Association was formed in 1877 with the intention to train the public in First Aid and to provide a regular voluntary ambulance service. From this date private donations were sought to build County Headquarters, with local ambulance stations being built in many towns and communities, although, as has been noted, for early “stations” these were little more than convenient locations in which to store equipment. However, in response to both the introduction of motor-powered ambulances from about 1912 and a decision by the Joint Council of the Order of St John and the British Red Cross Society to form a Home Ambulance Service in 1919, the number of purpose-built St John Ambulance stations increased. Often designed in a domestic vernacular style they were visually obvious buildings in the locality that incorporated the organisation’s emblem and name in the architectural detailing, and typically included garages, a duty room, office, casualty room, nurse’s accommodation, and a lecture room.

There has been a St John Ambulance brigade in Market Harborough since the formation of the St John Ambulance Association, but it was not until 1924 that a purpose-built headquarters for the Market Harborough St John Ambulance Division was opened. Designed by H G Coales the ambulance station was planned to accommodate the recently acquired motor ambulance wagon, and comprised a pair of large folding doors, a concrete floor, and storage accommodation for the apparatus. Upstairs was a lecture room designed to be let for hire when not required for ambulance purposes. A two-storey extension was added to the north-east elevation in the mid-C20 which provided an additional staircase, and ancillary rooms.

Herbert George Coales (1863-1944) trained as a surveyor and between 1896 and 1916 was in partnership with the architect Henry Winter Johnson (1871-1918). Together they designed several buildings in Market Harborough many of which are listed, including the fire station at 10 Abbey Street, and the associated firefighter houses at 12 and 14 Abbey Street, built in 1903 and 1912 respectively.

Details

Former ambulance station built in 1924 and designed in a Queen Anne Revival style by H G Coales.

MATERIALS: built of brick laid in English bond, with brick, stone and tile dressings. The pitched roof is covered in plain clay tiles, and the windows and doors are of timber. The mid-C20 addition is of brick laid in stretcher bond.

PLAN: rectangular on plan, the two-storey ambulance station has a double garage to the ground floor, a staircase to the south corner, and a lecture room above. There is a lower two storey wing to the south-east elevation. To the north-east elevation is a mid-C20 two-storey extension providing an additional staircase and ancillary rooms.

EXTERIOR: the north-west gable end forms the principal elevation with the building extending to the rear. The ground floor comprises glazed black brick pilasters and a central cross window flanked by a pair of folding, half glazed, timber garage doors; a stone plinth beneath incorporates conical bollards to the garage entrances. Above is the glazed black tile fascia featuring the St John Ambulance Brigade emblem (The Amalfi Cross, a white eight-pointed cross on a black background) to either side of the lettering ‘MARKET HARBOROUGH AMBULANCE STATION’. The first floor is of red brick and has a large Diocletian-style window divided by brick piers and set within a semi-circular rubbed brick arch with a stone keystone supporting a flagpole. To the corners are brick pilasters with pronounced brick banding that extend above the roofline. The gable is accentuated by an applied stone triangular open pediment with corbels and an entablature-style detail to the corners. The rear entrance is to the side (south-west) elevation which also features an axial chimney stack and a series of small-paned sash and casement windows set beneath rubbed brick arches. To the end of this elevation is a lower two-storey wing. The side (north-east) elevation is blind, and set back from the road, is a mid-C20 narrow two-storey brick extension in stretcher bond. The tiled dado incorporates the St John’s Ambulance Brigade emblem and the dates 1887-1987, marking the organisation’s centenary.

INTERIOR: the first-floor lecture room, spanned by metal trusses with angled struts has pilasters to the side walls, a wood block floor and a doorcase. The dogleg staircase has stick balusters. The doors have been replaced throughout with fire doors.

Sources

Books and journals
The Market Harborough Official Handbook, (1925)

Other
'New Ambulance Headquarters at Market Harborough', The Market Harborough Advertiser and Midland Mail (25 April, 1924)
'New Ambulance Division Headquarters at Market Harborough: opening ceremony', The Market Harborough Advertiser and Midland Mail (25 July 1924)

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.

Print the official list entry