That iconic Police Station in the heart of the city

Now I never have ventured into the old Bootle Street Police Station, and so I was fascinated by a series of pictures Andy Robertson sent over yesterday.

It was headed “Brutal plight of Bootle Street” and the images certainly fulfil the title.

The building was opened in the  1930s as the headquarters of the Manchester City Police.  

And its magnificent Portland stone exterior on South Mill Street spoke volumes of the power and authority of the City’s Constabulary.

Of course, the business bit was less impressive but none the less filled the bill for decades, but by the turn of the century this was less so and Greater Manchester Police began to move out, leading to its final closure.

By which time the developers began looking to the transformation of the site and the area.

But that is someone else’s story, * as are the pictures of the interior. **

So instead, I shall just leave you with Andy Robertson’s pictures, and go away for the weekend to miss the torrent of comments about developers in general and this particular development.

Location; Bootle Street

Pictures; “Brutal plight of Bootle Street”, April 2022, from the collection of Andy Robertson

*City Police Headquarters, https://manchesterhistory.net/manchester/tours/tour6/area6page19.html

**Abandoned Cells of Bootle Street - Manchester - Skyliner Tours, http://www.theskyliner.org/blog-1/bootle-street-cells