Description

THORPE LE SOKEN

TM 1822 LONDERMERE ROAD
1874/9/10007 Police Station
28-JUN-00

II

Police Station and magistrates' court. 1840s. Red brick with gault brick dressings; slate roofs.
EXTERIOR: nearly symmetrical 2-storey east elevation. Central advanced gable with canted bay to ground floor with 2-light transomed stone mullioned window and single-light side windows. One 2-light stone mullioned window above. Gable with kneelers and Essex County coat of arms. Recessed gabled bays right and left, each with one gabled porch on kneelers, with a moulded 4-centred arch and an inner ledged plank door. One 2-light stone mullioned window above. Further recessed bays right and left, that to north with one 2-light mullioned and transomed window to ground floor, to south with a single-storey hipped outshut lit through a similar window. 5 ridge stacks with rectangular plinths and 2 or 3 diamond flues with gault brick edging.
North and south gables with one 2-light transomed casement to ground floor and one 2-light untransomed casement to first floor.
Rear elevation with single-storey office to north with single-light casements. Courtroom to south with one 2-light mullioned window to north gable and 2 small single-light casements to west, separated by a plank door. 3 6/6 horned sashes to single-storey west extension.
Cell block in ground floor of main range: 2 heavily barred windows in granite surrounds light the cell passage. 3 steel mid C20 casements to first floor.
INTERIOR: 4-panelled doors to ground floor. 2 stick-baluster staircases located adjacent to the 2 east entrances doorways, separated by the main office. Office with C20 counter.
2 holding cells opening off secure corridor. Corridor with an inner iron lattice door and an outer studded plank timber door. Passage is barrel vaulted, with squinches over the 2 west windows. 2 water cisterns for toilet flushing. Cast-iron stove at north end of passage. Each cell with studded timber outer door and iron lattice inner door, secured with sliding bolts built into the masonry. Corridor divided into 2 areas by a further studded timber door. Each cell with ventilation grille over doors, a flat timber bed incorporating a flushing toilet under a hinged lid. Barrel-vaulted ceilings.
Courtroom with raised dais, barrel vaulted ceiling and plaster cornices. One cast-iron register insert to fireplace.

Listing NGR: TM1807922412

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26660756

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Herefordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Renovating Old Houses: Bringing New Life to Vintage Homes (For Pros By Pros)
• 
  Dorset (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  The green guide for historic buildings: how to improve the environmental performance of listed and historic buildings
• 
  ENGLAND GUIDE TO POST WAR LISTED: A Guide to Post-war Listed Buildings
• 
  Worcestershire Revised Edition (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)