Description

PORTLAND

SY6873 CASTLE ROAD, Fortuneswell
969-1/3/89 (East side)
Police Station with Court Room

GV II

Police station with court room. dated 1904 and 1906. Rock
faced Portland stone with ashlar dressings, slate roofs. A
two-part composition with the gabled court room set back to
left, and twin-gabled police station to right; beyond this
former police housing, now Nos 1-3, Castle Road (qv). Court
room has one-storey ante-room to balustraded parapet and
central pedimented Doric portico flanked by plain sashes in
architraves with keystones, including one sash on return. Good
pair of panelled doors. Main gable, behind, with Palladian
window having shell motif in arch, moulded surrounds and
voussoir band, under coped gable. Left return has 4 lofty
2-light stone transomed and mullioned lights under coped
gables linked by arch at rainwater outlets. Moulded cill band,
3 raking buttresses, cast-iron down pipes on lugs, and hopper
heads dated 1906. On main ridge an octagonal leaded wood
ventilation turret. Back wall with 3-light lofty mullioned
sash, and steps down to boiler house; large brick stack at
eaves. Police station has symmetrical twin-gabled front,
central section slightly recessed above projecting flat-roofed
porch on steps. Each coped gable has small vent above 3 plain
sashes in flush chamfered surrounds, and at ground floor a
tripartite sash with stone mullions. Square porch has panelled
door to right, 2 sashes to street and one on left return;
plain parapet has inscription 'County Police' to street front,
above moulded string running full width of front. Near back of
each ridge a brick stack. At back a sash centrally at each
level, then, to right (N) a single-storey cell block in yellow
brick, 7-windowed, with plain gable to E, 1 window to end of
corridor; all lights small segmental-headed to heavy cills,
and protective iron bars. Interior of court room with all
original fittings, with 4-bay arch-braced roof to stone
corbels, 5-panel doors in moulded architraves, and one with
pulvinated frieze at E end; brass door handles. Royal Arms
behind magistrate's chair. Police station retains original
fireplaces and many good panelled doors in architraves. The
cell block has 6 cells, two of these retaining original C19
pattern doors. This is a confidently detailed and presented
building, holding an important position visually on the road
rising from Victoria Square to Fortuneswell, and showing
remarkable little change to its fabric.

Listing NGR: SY6845973769

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26570864

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

• 
  Churches: An Architectural Guide (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
• 
  England's Post-War Listed Buildings
• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair
• 
  The green guide for historic buildings: how to improve the environmental performance of listed and historic buildings
• 
  London 4: North: North v. 4 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Liverpool: Pevsner City Guide (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)