St Albans Police Station, 1963-1964

Not the best of pictures, but this shows the former St Albans City Chief Constable’s house in Bricket Road which was used a police station during 1963 and 1964 whilst the old building in adjoining Victoria Street was demolished and a new station erected on the site. Once the new building was in use, this house was demolished to make way for the police station staff car park. The picture was taken in January 1965.
Very few concessions were made to make the house suitable for police use. On the ground floor the largest room was used as a parade and cloakroom. The other front room doubled as the enquiry office and Sergeants’ office (separated by a glass screen) and there was a small dining room and even smaller kitchen. On the first floor were three offices: one for Inspectors and two for C.I.D., plus the only toilet in the building. The very small attic had been converted to a bar which was crowded if more than six people were present. In the back garden a hut was erected to house the telephone switchboard, teleprinter and motorway emergency ‘phones from the M1 and M10.
The former sub-station at Fleetville was used as the Divisional Office during this period.
In October 1964 I was my shift’s noddy rider and had just returned to Bricket Road with despatches from Fleetville. I parked my machine outside the front door and went inside. A few moments later someone asked, “Is that your noddy outside?” A lorry, which was being used to deliver supplies to the new building, had just reversed over it and then driven onto the site, with me in hot pursuit – on foot, of course. The lorry driver’s explanation was, “It wasn’t there when I stopped.” Britain’s modern police service reduced to a heap of crumpled metal !