Royston Police Station and Magistrates’ Court (Priory Lane)

Overview

Sources

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Overview

Nation   England

County   Hertfordshire

Location   Priory Lane (near junction with Market Hill),  Royston

Map location   exact or closely approximate

Year opened   1883

Year closed   1991

Century of Operation   1800-1899, 1900-1999

Building Type   Police Station, Courthouse

Remarks   Royston, Hertfordshire, had police stations at White Hall, London Road 1841-1883, at Priory Lane 1883-1991 and at Melbourn Road 1991 to date. The Priory Lane station was converted into a business centre in 1994 and a private house in 2010. Before the boundary changes of 1896, the county boundary between Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire ran east-west through the centre of town along the middle of Melbourn Street. (Martin Dawes, Geograph). Both Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire Constabularies maintained police stations in the town. A. C. Wiseman's book, 'The History of Police Stations in Hertfordshire', gives a comprehensive history and photographs of this, and many other, police premises.

Descriptions

'Work began on 5th June 1882...at the junction of Priory Lane and Market Hill...[and]...encompassed a guardroom, inspector's office, three cells - each measuring 13ft 1in by 7ft 3ins - and prisoners' exercise yard surrounded by a 14ft high wall...[and a courtroom]...Heating was provided by a series of hot water pipes which ran...through the wooden beds in the station's cells. Prisoners were also afforded the use of an electric bell, which could be used for summoning the attention of officers in the guardroom. A flat with two bedrooms was located on the first floor of the station and allocated to a married couple. Meanwhile a separate house...was provided for the town's senior officer... The magistrates' court heard its last case on 3 October [1990]. The police station closed five months later on 25 March 1991. The building lay derelict and neglectd for three years before being converted into the Royston Business & Design Centre in 1994. [The custody area and cells were preserved during this renovation and also in its conversion into private house in 2010]'

A. C. Wiseman., ‘The History of Police Stations in Hertfordshire’. Stroud: The History Press, 2017, pp.250-258.

'The force consists of a chief constable, deputy chief constable, 6 superintendents, 5 inspectors, 2 sergeants & 23 constables...[County Constabulary] E, or Hitchin Division – Superintendent, John Reynolds, Hitchin; inspector, R. Goodyear, County Constab. Office, Royston; Stations [include] Royston...Special & Petty Sessions are held at the police-station alternate wednesdays in every month at 11 a.m....Police Station, near Market Hill, erected in 1883 at a cost of over £3,000; Robt. Goodyear, inspector, & 1 constable; there is also one constable stationed at the following places: - Ashwell, Barkway, Barley, Sandon & Therfield'

Kelly’s Directory of Hertfordshire. London: Kelly and Co, 1890, p.690, pp.807-808.

'The force consists of a chief constable, deputy chief constable, 5 superintendents, 7 inspectors, 20 sergeants & 157 constables....[County Constabulary] E, or Hitchin Division – Superintendent, John Reynolds, Hitchin; inspector, James Hart, County Constabulary Office, Royston; Stations [include] Royston...James Hart, inspector, & two constables; there is also one constable stationed at the following places: - Ashwell, Barkway, Barley, Sandon, Therfield & Hinxworth.'

Kelly’s Directory of Hertfordshire. London: Kelly and Co, 1895, p.10, p.150.

'The force consists of a chief constable, deputy chief constable, 5 superintendents, 7 inspectors, 23 sergeants & 167 constables....[County Police] E, or Hitchin Division – Superintendent, John Reynolds, DCC, Hitchin; inspector, James Hart, County Constabulary office, Royston; stations [include] Royston... James Hart, inspector, & two constables; there is also one constable stationed at the following places: - Ashwell, Barkway, Barley, Sandon, Therfield & Hinxworth. '

Kelly’s Directory of Hertfordshire. London: Kelly and Co, 1899, p.14, pp.160-163.

'The force consists of a chief constable, deputy chief constable, 7 superintendents, 8 inspectors, 29 sergeants & 207 constables... [County Police] E, or Hitchin Division – Superintendent, John Reynolds, DCC, Hitchin; inspector, James Hart, County Constabulary office, Royston; stations [include] Royston... James Hart, inspector, & four constables; there is also one constable stationed at the following places: - Ashwell, Barkway, Barley, Sandon, Therfield & Hinxworth. '

Kelly’s Directory of Hertfordshire. London: Kelly and Co, 1902

'The force consists of a chief constable, deputy chief constable, 7 superintendents, 8 inspectors, 31 sergeants & 224 constables... [County Police] E, or Hitchin Division – Superintendent, John Reynolds, DCC, Hitchin; inspectors, H. Spriggs, County Constabulary Office, Royston & Inspector H. Storey, Stevenage; stations [include] Royston... Henry George Spriggs, inspector & four constables; there is also one constable stationed at the following places: - Ashwell, Barkway, Barley, Sandon & Therfield '

Kelly’s Directory of Hertfordshire. London: Kelly and Co, 1908, p.13, p.190.

'The force consists of a chief constable, deputy chief constable, 8 superintendents, 9 inspectors, 40 sergeants & 291 constables... [County Police] E, or Hitchin Division – Superintendent, G. Reed, Hitchin; inspectors, W. Bowyer, Stevenage & F. W. Warren, Letchworth; stations [include] Royston... William George Chapman, inspector, & four constables: Royston …. there is also one constable stationed at the following places: - Ashwell, Barkway, Barley, Sandon & Therfield '

Kelly’s Directory of Hertfordshire. London: Kelly and Co, 1914, p.13, p.204.

'Old court, police station and police sergant’s house, Priory Lane. Built in 1883, these buildings form an important part of the town’s history. They are an attractive group of buildings of similar design and materials, constructed of gault bricks with red brick and terracotta dressings, and with small paned casement windows. Unfortunately the railings to the front wall no longer exist. '

North Herts District Council, ‘Royston: Register of Buildings of Local Interest’, Part 3, 27 March 2007

'The Old Magistrates Court in Hertfordshire has an interesting history. Originally built in 1883 as part of Royston's Police Station and Sergeant's House, the courtroom and cells still remain in this renovated home. The four-bedroom detached house, located in Royston, Hertfordshire, covers 3,100 square feet, and has four reception rooms, a two-room cellar, utility room and a distinctive open-plan kitchen/dining/living room, with granite work surfaces, a central island, integrated appliances and mezzanine family room above....[the former] cell number one is now a study featuring a drop glass desk with chain supports, spot lighting and a cast iron radiator. Cell two is now a gym, and cell three is a utility room with a range of base and wall mounted units, an oak worktop and an inset Belfast sink. '

Kate Avis-Riordan, House Beautiful magazine, 'Former police station and sergeant's house is now a charming family home'.

'It was built in the late 19th century and originally formed the town’s courthouse and police station, but after having been left vacant for a considerable period of time, it was used as an office in the mid 1990s and then converted into this fabulous home four years ago by a local developer... The old prison cells – complete with the original cell doors – have been transformed into an office, a home gym and a utility room, and the open-plan kitchen, dining and living area, used to be the old courtroom'

Fine & Country Estate Agents, 'The Old Magistrates' Court' (sales particulars)

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SOURCES

    A. C. Wiseman., ‘The History of Police Stations in Hertfordshire’. Stroud: The History Press, 2017, pp.250-258.
  • North Herts District Council, ‘Royston: Register of Buildings of Local Interest’, Part 3, 27 March 2007

  • https://www.north-herts.gov.uk/sites/northherts-cms/files/royston_register_of_buildings_of_local_interest.pdf
  • Kate Avis-Riordan, House Beautiful magazine, 'Former police station and sergeant's house is now a charming family home', 29 March 2017.

  • https://www.housebeautiful.com/uk/lifestyle/property/news/a1468/renovated-former-police-station-for-sale/
  • Fine & Country Estate Agents, 'The Old Magistrates' Court' (sales particulars)

  • https://cdn.fineandcountry.com/property/7/50068648/MED_50068648_50350564.pdf
  • Kelly’s Directory of Hertfordshire. London: Kelly and Co, 1890.

  • http://specialcollections.le.ac.uk/digital/collection/p16445coll4/id/8876/
  • Kelly’s Directory of Hertfordshire. London: Kelly and Co, 1895, p.10, p.150.

  • http://specialcollections.le.ac.uk/digital/collection/p16445coll4/id/8872/
  • Kelly’s Directory of Hertfordshire. London: Kelly and Co, 1899.

  • https://cdm16445.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16445coll4/id/48023/rec/1
  • Kelly’s Directory of Hertfordshire. London: Kelly and Co, 1902.

  • http://specialcollections.le.ac.uk/digital/collection/p16445coll4/id/278578
  • Kelly’s Directory of Hertfordshire. London: Kelly and Co, 1908

  • http://specialcollections.le.ac.uk/digital/collection/p16445coll4/id/278581/
  • Kelly’s Directory of Hertfordshire. London: Kelly and Co, 1914.

  • https://cdm16445.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16445coll4/id/59174/rec/6

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