Steelhouse Lane police station is a former police station in central Birmingham, England. It was built for the Birmingham City Police and opened in 1933 as their Central Police Station, [1] replacing a Victorian station on the same site. [2] It was used by their successor, the West Midlands Police, until 2017 where they transferred to Lloyd House, also the force's HQ. [3] [4] The carvings over the entrances, including the coat of arms of Birmingham, are by the local sculptor William Bloye.
The station sits on a plot of land at the rear of the former Victoria Law Courts (now a magistrates' court), which was originally acquired for the extension of the court building. [1] It faces Birmingham Children's Hospital.
The 1933 station itself, in neo-Georgian style [1] is not a listed building, but the adjacent, late-nineteenth century cell block on the corner of Coleridge Passage was given Grade II protection on 8 July 1982 for its special architectural interest: the three-story building has a brick and terra cotta facade with many ornaments, and it has a slate roof. [5] The station sits in Birmingham City Council's Steelhouse Lane conservation area, which was designated in October 1993. [1] A tunnel links the cell block to the courts. [2]
The City of Birmingham Orchestra, (later renamed the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra) held its first rehearsal in the band room at the old station, at 9.30am on 4 September 1920. [6] For around sixty years, until closed in 2005, the station housed a private bar, allowing officers to drink when not on duty. [7]
The police station closed for the final time on Sunday 15 January 2017. [8]
The West Midlands Police Museum relocated to the listed cell block in 2022.
