Cannon Row Police Station in Cannon Row, Westminster, was one of the

Metropolitan Police The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...

's better known central London police stations. Replacing a leased station on King Street in

St James's St James's is a central district in the City of Westminster, London, forming part of the West End. In the 17th century the area developed as a residential location for the British aristocracy, and around the 19th century was the focus of the de ...

, it opened on 21 July 1902 in an extension to the

Norman Shaw Buildings The Norman Shaw Buildings (formerly known as New Scotland Yard) are a pair of buildings in Westminster, London, overlooking the River Thames. The buildings were designed by the architects Richard Norman Shaw and John Dixon Butler, between 1887 a ...

, then the home of

New Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the square mile that forms London's ...

. Cannon Row Police Station was designed by the Metropolitan Police Surveyor,

John Dixon Butler John Dixon Butler (December 1860 – 27 October 1920) was a British architect and the Surveyor to London's Metropolitan Police Service, Metropolitan Police from 1895 until his death. He completed the designs and alterations to around 200 police ...

, with

Richard Norman Shaw Richard Norman Shaw RA (7 May 1831 – 17 November 1912), also known as Norman Shaw, was a British architect who worked from the 1870s to the 1900s, known for his country houses and for commercial buildings. He is considered to be among the g ...

as consultant. The building is listed at

Grade II* In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

, and is no longer in use as a police station. The code for the station was "AD", police phonetic code "Alpha Delta". The station was responsible for policing

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original cast ...

, The

Palace of Westminster The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parli ...

(Parliament), No

10 Downing Street 10 Downing Street in London, also known colloquially in the United Kingdom as Number 10, is the official residence and executive office of the first lord of the treasury, usually, by convention, the prime minister of the United Kingdom. Along wi ...

Clarence House Clarence House is a royal residence on The Mall in the City of Westminster, London. It was built in 1825–1827, adjacent to St James's Palace, for the Duke of Clarence, the future king William IV. Over the years, it has undergone much exte ...

St James's Palace St James's Palace is the most senior royal palace in London, the capital of the United Kingdom. The palace gives its name to the Court of St James's, which is the monarch's royal court, and is located in the City of Westminster in London. Altho ...

and was responsible for all major events and demonstrations that took place in Central

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Officers from the station investigated many of the 20th century’s most notable crimes;

Dr Crippen Hawley Harvey Crippen (September 11, 1862 – November 23, 1910), usually known as Dr. Crippen, was an American homeopath, ear and eye specialist and medicine dispenser. He was hanged in Pentonville Prison in London for the murder of his wife Co ...

was held in the cells at Cannon Row after his arrest; and the cells were also used for the safe storage of the

Jules Rimet Trophy The World Cup is a solid gold trophy that is awarded to the winners of the FIFA World Cup association football tournament. Since the advent of the World Cup in 1930, two trophies have been used: the Jules Rimet Trophy from 1930 to 1970, before ...

following its recovery after the theft of the cup prior to the 1966 World Championship. In 1985 the station moved to the

Curtis Green Building New Scotland Yard, formerly known as the Curtis Green Building and before that as Whitehall Police Station, is a building in Westminster, London. Since November 2016, it has been the Scotland Yard headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service ...

, retaining the name 'Cannon Row'. The new station was opened by

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...

, the then

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

. It finally closed in 1992 on its merger with Bow Street Police Station to form Charing Cross Police Station at the former

Charing Cross Hospital Charing Cross Hospital is an acute general teaching hospital located in Hammersmith, London, United Kingdom. The present hospital was opened in 1973, although it was originally established in 1818, approximately five miles east, in central Lond ...

site on Agar Street. The building now forms part of the Parliamentary Estate.

References

External links

Canon Row Police Station official websiteAlpha Delta Plus SetCanon Row Then & NowOn Duty Pictures
Police stations in the City of Westminster Former Metropolitan Police stations {{london-struct-stub