Newcastle upon Tyne City Police was the
Home Office police force and a constabulary that served the city of
Newcastle upon Tyne.
It was formed in 1836 when Newcastle was one of Europe's biggest industrial cities. It was the first modern police force,
formed three years before the
County Police Act of 1839. The force had stations at Pilgrim Street in the City Centre, Arthur's Hill, Headlam Street, and Red Barnes, with section stations at Walker, Heaton, Kenton and Benwell village. The Pilgrim Street station was also a fire station. Each foot beat had a large
police box where officers could rest and 'ring-in' to their main station and the public had access to a phone for advice or to summon help.
At its peak Newcastle City had almost 1,000 police officers with MGB sports cars in its motor patrol fleet as well as its own specially tailored uniforms. On 1 April 1969 it was amalgamated into the
Northumberland Constabulary under the
Police Act 1964.
["70 police forces to be axed in mergers". ''The Times''. 19 May 1966.]
Newcastle upon Tyne City Police lost its identity after the 1969 mergers when the new Northumberland Constabulary was formed. Based at Pilgrim Street police station (now closed and relocated at Forth Banks), the old Newcastle City police HQ, like many multifunctional police forces, also housed the Magistrates Courts and fire station. It was designed by Cackett, Burns, Dick and MacKellar and opened in 1934. The classical elements of
Corinthian column
The Corinthian order (Greek: Κορινθιακός ρυθμός, Latin: ''Ordo Corinthius'') is the last developed of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order ...
s and Egyptian solidity is clearly present, and it is also noted for its mock Babylonian sculptures.
It only ended its use as police headquarters after the establishment of
Northumbria Police after 1974 which moved to
Ashington, then
Ponteland sometime later. It also housed one of the two server storage systems for Northumbria Police that backs up and shares contingency information (disaster recovery) with its twin in Ponteland. This changed in 2011 when a new computer system became operational, and the disaster recovery system was moved to
South Shields
South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. Historically, it was known in Roman times as Arbeia, and as Caer Urfa by Early Middle Ages. According to the 20 ...
.
References
{{reflist
Defunct police forces of England
History of Northumberland