Manchester City Police Headquarters
| Manchester City Police Headquarters | |
|---|---|
![]() Entrance on Southmill Street | |
Interactive map of the Manchester City Police Headquarters area | |
General information | |
| Type | Police station (formerly) |
Architectural style | Palladian |
| Location | Southmill Street, Manchester, England |
| Coordinates | 53°28′42.85″N 2°14′47.94″W / 53.4785694°N 2.2466500°W |
| Year built | 1933–1937 |
| Groundbreaking | 6 September 1934 (foundation stone) |
Construction started | July 1933 |
Completed | 1937 |
| Opened | 16 July 1937 |
| Relocated | 2011 |
| Renovated | 2022 |
| Closed | 2014 |
| Cost | £100,500 |
| Client | City of Manchester |
| Owner | Manchester City Police, Manchester City Council |
| Technical details | |
| Material | Portland stone, brick |
| Floor count | 6 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | G. Noel Hill |
Architecture firm | Manchester City Architect's Department |
| Main contractor | J. Gerrard and Sons, Swinton |
The Manchester City Police Headquarters is a former police building on Southmill Street in Manchester, England.[1] Built between 1933 and 1937 to designs by the architect G. Noel Hill, it served as the headquarters of the Manchester City Police and later the Greater Manchester Police until its closure in 2014.[2] Most of the building has since been demolished as part of the St Michael's redevelopment, although the Portland stone façade has been retained.
Description
The building is flanked on three sides by Bootle Street (south), Southmill Street (east), and Jackson's Row (north). The main vehicular entrance was on Bootle Street, with the formal entrance door on Southmill Street. Opposite to the east is the Friend's Meeting House, used as a conference centre.[3]
The building was designed by G. Noel Hill,[2] the Manchester City Architect, and erected during 1933–37 by the contractor J. Gerrard and Sons of Swinton.[4] The main facade on Southmill Street is faced with Portland stone and the other walls are of golden honey brick. There was a partially covered 150×50 feet courtyard in the centre of the building.[2] There were six floors in total, a basement, lower ground floor (including cells and a garage), ground floor (including a museum), first floor, second floor to the front and sides, and to the front only a third floor.
The foundation stone for the building was laid by Councillor Reginald Ashley Larmuth, the chairman of the Watch Committee, on 6 September 1934.[5] The building was opened by The Rt Hon. Alderman Joseph Toole JP, then the Lord Mayor of Manchester, on 16 July 1937.
Later developments
Manchester City Police merged with the Salford City Police to create the Manchester and Salford Police in 1968, which itself was amalgamated into the Greater Manchester Police in 1974. In 2011, Greater Manchester Police moved to a new headquarters in north Manchester.[6] The building closed as a police station in 2014.[5]

The site has been redeveloped from 2022, including the construction of a new 41-storey high-rise building, as part of St Michael's, a development project by Gary Neville's company Relentless Developments.[7][8][9] The building was largely demolished, but the side with the Portland stone facade has been retained.[10]
See also
References
- ↑ "A view of the Manchester City Police Headquarters, which was built in the early 1930s and designed by G. Noel Hill". historicengland.org.uk. UK: Historic England. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
- 1 2 3 "Manchester City Police Headquarters – City Architect: G. Noel Hill [F.]" (PDF). RIBA Journal. 45 (7): 342–346. 7 February 1938. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
- ↑ "Friends' Meeting House Manchester". meetinghousemanchester.co.uk. UK. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
- ↑ Darlington, Neil (2024). "Central Police Headquarters Bootle Street Manchester". A Biographical Dictionary of the Architects of Greater Manchester, 1800–1940. The Victorian Society. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
- 1 2 "Manchester City Police Headquarters, Bootle Street, M.2". The New Wipers Times. 7 August 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
- ↑ "Greater Manchester Police given key to new HQ building". BBC News. UK: BBC. 10 May 2011. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
- ↑ "£400m St Michael's scheme launched in Manchester". businessconnectmagazine.co.uk. UK: Business Connect Magazine. 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
- ↑ "St Michael's Offices and Masterplan Launched in Manchester". salboy.com. Salboy. 5 July 2023. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
- ↑ Hyde, John (7 July 2023). "Firms sign up for Gary Neville's Manchester development". lawgazette.co.uk. UK: The Law Society Gazette. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
- ↑ St Michael's Manchester (2024). "Bowmer and Kirkland Ltd commenced construction of No. 1 St Michael's in January 2022, with this first distinctive phase completing in 2024". LinkedIn. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
External links
Media related to Manchester City Police Headquarters at Wikimedia Commons
- 1937 establishments in England
- Brick buildings and structures in the United Kingdom
- Buildings and structures completed in 1937
- Defunct police stations
- Demolished buildings and structures in Manchester
- Limestone buildings in the United Kingdom
- Office buildings in Manchester
- Palladian Revival architecture in England
- Police headquarters in the United Kingdom
- Police stations in England
