Former Police Station and attached railings

Summary

A former police station and attached railings, designed by Charles William Davies Joynson and erected between 1899 and 1902.

Reasons for Designation

The former Darlaston Police Station and front railings, designed by Charles William Davies Joynson and built 1899-1902, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* as a late-C19 example of a purpose-built police station which survives well;
* for its good quality Queen Anne revival design by Wednesbury architect, Charles William Davies Joynson, with high quality detailing including moulded window and door dressings, terracotta ornamentation and wrought iron railings.

Historic interest:

* its form is illustrative of its function and of the importance of this building type during a period of investment in the construction of police stations in the late C19.

History

Darlaston developed rapidly during the C18 and C19 as its local mining and metal industries boomed. A municipal centre developed in the late C19 which featured a town hall, fire station and purpose-built police station. The new police station was built between 1899 and 1902 in Crescent Road and replaced an earlier station set up in a house at 25 Church Street.

The new police station was designed by local architect Charles William Davies Joynson (1862-1943) who became the mayor of Wednesbury in 1898-1900 and was an Alderman from 1925. Joynson designed several Methodist chapels and schools, and his other notable buildings included Wednesbury Clock Tower, the Imperial Picture House and the now-demolished Wednesbury Theatre Royal.

When built, the station was roughly U-shaped and had a rear courtyard to the east. This was partially infilled with a single-storey extension in the mid-C20. The police station was closed in 2018.

Details

A former police station and attached railings, designed by Charles William Davies Joynson and erected between 1899 and 1902.

MATERIALS: the building is constructed of red brick with buff terracotta dressings and a slate roof.

PLAN: the building is roughly U-shaped, with a rear courtyard to the east, partially infilled with C20 extensions.

EXTERIOR: the building is set over two storeys plus a basement, with its principal elevation facing Crescent Road. To the front of the building is a sunken trench allowing light to basement windows. The central section of the building is flanked by two pedimented wings which feature terracotta quoins and oculi with moulded terracotta surrounds to the gable ends. There is a substantial entrance in the right wing, in the style of Norman Shaw’s New Scotland Yard, with blocked half-columns and a segmental pediment featuring the words ‘POLICE STATION’ in moulded lettering. The ground floor windows and entrance to the left wing have shallow semi-circular heads with hood moulds and keystones, all in terracotta. The steps to the entrances form a bridge to the trench. First floor windows each have nine-light upper sashes. The roof features ornamental red terracotta ridge tiles and four brick and terracotta chimneys. There are two ranges with hipped roofs projecting from the rear of the building. The space between these wings has been partially infilled with a later, flat-roofed extension featuring central roof lights.

INTERIOR: it is understood that the original staircases with turned newel posts and pinnacles remain, together with tiling, fireplaces, internal doors, skirtings, architraves and other architectural details. The main double doors are understood to be part glazed with stained glass in leaded lights.

SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: the frontage features wrought iron railings and modern hand rails to the principal entrance.

This list entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on 21 April 2022 to update the address

Sources

Other
Foster, A, Pevsner, N, Wedgwood, A, The Buildings of England: Birmingham and the Black Country (2022)
Wolverhampton and Walsall HER, reference 5825, Settlement, Darlaston, accessed 14 January 2022 from https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MBL1871&resourceID=1025

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