City of London Police Station - Bishopsgate, London, UK - Police Stations on Waymarking.com

Bishopsgate Police Station is one of three premises used by the City of London Police, who are responsible for law enforcement within the ‘Square Mile’ of the City of London. Their HQ is at the Guildhall and there is another police station at Wood Street. Planning permission was granted in early 2021 for the building of a new Police HQ on Fleet Street. This development is to be partly funded by the sale of Wood Street Police Station and the former Police Station on Snow Hill.

The first purpose-built police station on Bishopsgate opened in 1866. It was designed by Sir Horace Jones, probably better known for his design of the nearby Tower Bridge. This police station survived in use until it was demolished in the 1930s and a new police station was built on the same site. The frontage onto Bishopsgate is just 70 feet wide (some sources say 55 feet - I didn’t measure it), but the building extends eastwards as far as New Street. It has barely any parking space, so police vehicles occupy the roadsides in all directions.

The building was constructed at a time when the Second World War was imminent and is said to have been built specifically to survive aerial bombing. The police station opened in 1939 and duly took a direct hit from an enemy bomb in September 1940. The building was damaged but, as expected, it survived structurally. There was however the loss of one life; a nurse from the Police Hospital that at the time occupied the top floor. The hospital was there to treat officers who were unwell or had been injured in the line of duty and closed in 1947 on the establishment of the National Health Service

The website ‘Our City Together’ has the following description of this police station:

“Opened in 1939, it was designed by Messrs Vine and Vine, RIBA Architects, following a competition. It reflected the needs of the time and was considered so state of the art that a review was published in The Builder on 7 April 1939. This article gives us a glimpse of what the original building was like, as much development of it has taken place since. The building was built on a pre-existing and oddly-sized plot in the City. The width of the building and its frontage was only 55 feet (17 metres), while it stretched back 330 feet (just over 100 metres). The building was steel-framed, with thick concrete walls. The stairs and floors were made from reinforced concrete, and floors over the vital administrative units were crash-proof. This was in preparation for the upcoming war, in which it was believed that London would suffer from blanket bombing.

The facade was less utilitarian and faced with Portland Stone, with the plinth and piers between the ground floor windows made from Bluehill grey granite. The head above the main entrance is also made from the same granite – a single piece that weighs five and a half tonnes. The remainder of the exterior was finished with cream Gault brick, with white flush joints.

In addition to the police station proper on the ground floor (including the general office, charge-room and cells, dorms, mess rooms and canteen), there were single and married quarters. The single quarters each came with a fitted wardrobe cupboard and the married quarters had two, three or four bedrooms, with their own dust chute and drying balcony. A hospital for police officers was arranged on the top floor, with all wards facing south. Sports facilities were also provided for officers; there was a billiards room, and the muster-room doubled up as a boxing ring”.

Type: Satellite Office

Visit Instructions:
To log a visit, you must post a photo of you in front of the building described, with your GPS in the photo. No drive by photos.

I have had NO problems with taking photos of Police stations but please respect the fact that some services may be nervous about having their photo taken and inquire as to why... I have found that once things are explained they are more than happy to let me photograph the building, crest, chief... (they are people too!)

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   11/23/2021 Master Mariner visited it