The Ryde police station is a heritage-listed lockup, police residence and police station located at 808-810 Victoria Road,

Ryde Ryde is an English seaside town and civil parish on the north-east coast of the Isle of Wight. The built-up area had a population of 23,999 according to the 2011 Census and an estimate of 24,847 in 2019. Its growth as a seaside resort came af ...

in the

City of Ryde The City of Ryde is a local government area in the Northern Sydney region, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It was first established as the Municipal District of Ryde in 1870, became a municipality in 1906 and was proclaimed as the ...

local government area of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia. It was designed by

Mortimer Lewis Mortimer William Lewis (1796 – 9 March 1879) was an English-born architect, surveyor and public servant who migrated to Australia and became Colonial Architect in the colony of New South Wales (now a state of Australia) from 1835 to 1849. Lew ...

and built from 1836 to 1837 by David Taylor; Messrs Brodie & Craig. It is also known as Ryde Police Station (former), Ryde Police Station, Ryde Detective's Offices and Kissing Point Police Watch House or lockup. The property is owned by

NSW Police The New South Wales Police Force (NSW Police Force; previously the New South Wales Police Service and New South Wales Police) is the primary law enforcement agency of the state of New South Wales, Australia. Divided into Police Area Commands (P ...

, an

agency Agency may refer to: Organizations * Institution, governmental or others ** Advertising agency or marketing agency, a service business dedicated to creating, planning and handling advertising for its clients ** Employment agency, a business that ...

of the

Government of New South Wales The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of New South Wales. It is currently held by a coalition of the Liberal Party and the National Party. The Governmen ...

. It was added to the

New South Wales State Heritage Register The New South Wales State Heritage Register, also known as NSW State Heritage Register, is a heritage list of places in the state of New South Wales, Australia, that are protected by New South Wales legislation, generally covered by the Heritag ...

on 2 April 1999.

History

The Ryde area was highly suitable for farming and orchards, and early

grants Grant or Grants may refer to: Places *Grant County (disambiguation) Australia * Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia United Kingdom *Castle Grant United States * Grant, Alabama *Grant, Inyo County, C ...

to marines were given to encourage agriculture. In 1792 land in the area was granted to eight marines; two of the grants were in the modern area of Ryde. Isaac Archer and John Colethread each received of land on the site of the present Ryde-

Parramatta Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...

Golf Links, now in

West Ryde West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some R ...

. Later in 1792, in the Eastern Farms area, twelve grants, most of them about , were made to convicts. Much later these farms were bought by

John Macarthur John MacArthur or Macarthur may refer to: *J. Roderick MacArthur (1920–1984), American businessman *John MacArthur (American pastor) (born 1939), American evangelical minister, televangelist, and author * John Macarthur (priest), 20th-century pro ...

Gregory Blaxland Gregory Blaxland (17 June 1778 – 1 January 1853) was an English pioneer farmer and explorer in Australia, noted especially for initiating and co-leading the first successful crossing of the Blue Mountains by European settlers. Early life ...

and the Reverend

Samuel Marsden Samuel Marsden (25 June 1765 – 12 May 1838) was an English-born priest of the Church of England in Australia and a prominent member of the Church Missionary Society, believed to have introduced Christianity to New Zealand. Marsden was a prom ...

. The district remained an important orchard area throughout the 19th century. The

Kissing Point Kissing Point is a point on the Parramatta River about 2 km south of Ryde, located in the suburb of Putney. Historically, the name referred to a much wider area than the current-day point; and perhaps originally to the point near Ryde Bridg ...

Police Watch House or lockup was built in 1837 and is reputedly the oldest continuous police building in use in Australia. Mortimer Lewis, Colonial Architect (1835-1849) was a prolific designer, responsible for the first buildings in the

Tarban Creek Tarban Creek, a northern tributary of the Parramatta River, is a creek west of Sydney Harbour, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Ecology Tarban Creek starts near Earnshaw Parade in Gladesville and runs along a concrete base through Tarban C ...

Lunatic Asylum (later

Gladesville Gladesville is a suburb in the Lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Gladesville is located 10 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Ryde a ...

Hospital). Ex-convict John Small was the first constable. In 1836 the Watch House had one male and one female cell, plus two toilets and a Constable's room. A hall led from the front to the back of the building, and the Pyrmont sandstone walls were thick. The purupse of the small alcoves adjacent to the front door is unknown. At the rear are brick cell blocks and a police residence, dating from 1898-1899. An adjoining courthouse was built in .

Description

A simple, single storey rectangular building with a

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

roof. The gable end contains an oriel window and the front entrance is covered by a canopy. Built in Pyrmont

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

with a slate roof. In 1836 the Watch House had one male and one female cell, plus two toilets and a Constable's room. A hall led from the front to the back of the building, and the Pyrmont sandstone walls were thick. The purpose of the small alcoves adjacent to the front door is unknown. At the rear are brick cell blocks and a police residence, dating from 1898-1899. An adjoining courthouse was built in .

Condition

As at 8 February 2001, no assessment, but medium archaeological potential.

Modifications and dates

1840; 1864; 1899; 1920s; 1979/80 and 1996. *1864 - building extended *1899 - building extended

Heritage listing

As at 15 August 2008, constructed in 1837, the former Police Station building is of great historical and architectural importance being reputedly the oldest Police building in continual service in New South Wales. Police Station was listed on the

on 2 April 1999.

References

Bibliography

Attribution

External links

{{commons category-inline, Ryde police station New South Wales State Heritage Register Ryde, New South Wales Police stations in New South Wales Prisons in New South Wales Houses in Sydney Articles incorporating text from the New South Wales State Heritage Register 1836 establishments in Australia Buildings and structures completed in 1837 Mortimer Lewis buildings