A museum with a difference

Many times while walking round Manchester’s Northern Quarter I’ve passed the police museum but have never been inside as it isn’t open at the weekends, however after recently reading some excellent online reviews I decided take some time out during my working week to pay the place a visit.

Established in 1981 the Manchester Police Museum is housed in the former Newton Street Police Station which was home to ‘A’ Division of Manchester City Police from 1879, followed by its successors Manchester and Salford Police (1968 to 1974) then Greater Manchester Police until its closure in 1979. During the building’s conversion to a museum the interior was restored to reflect its past and to show the history of policing in the city through the years from Victorian times to the present day. Funded by Greater Manchester Police it’s staffed by a group of very knowledgeable and helpful volunteers who are retired policemen and women or others who have had roles within local police forces.

Just inside the entrance I was greeted by a very cheerful ex-police officer in casual uniform who showed me into the introduction gallery where there was lots of information about the very early days of policing and a life-size model of a 1920s police box. A typical British police box acted as a miniature police station where a patrolling officer would read and fill in reports, take meal breaks or temporarily hold detainees until transport arrived. Its telephone was linked directly to the local police station and was located behind a hinged door so it could be used from the outside, enabling members of the public to easily call the local emergency services. In addition to the telephone a police box would also contain an incident book, a fire extinguisher and a first aid kit. Although most police boxes were usually blue those in Glasgow were red until the late 1960s; apparently there are still around eight police boxes dotted round Glasgow city centre but most of these have been turned into coffee kiosks.

Through the introduction gallery was the uniform gallery with several big display cabinets showing examples of police uniforms, caps, hats and helmets worn throughout the years, although a lot of light reflection rather interfered with getting really good photos. The volunteer on duty was Sandie, a lovely ex-police lady who was an absolute mine of interesting information and stories; she had also been the ‘model’ for the new uniform issued to policewomen in the mid 1970s and was the very first Manchester policewoman to wear it.

The ‘Bobby Dazzler’ helmet on display is one of two worn by male officers who, to huge applause, famously kissed in the middle of Deansgate at Manchester Pride 2016, recreating Banksy’s ‘Kissing Coppers’ mural. The ‘Bobby Dazzlers’ were created for Greater Manchester Police by decorative headgear designer Brett Dearden using decommissioned helmets – each one is made up of 5,000 reflective tiles and took 15 hours to create.

The Velocette L.E. was a motorbike used by over fifty British police forces during the 1950s and 60s, the model on display being in the original burgundy colour scheme of the Lancashire Constabulary and registered to that force in May 1966. Equipped with a typical radio telephone of that period, the rider had to stop at the roadside in order to pick up the phone to answer or send messages. This type of motorbike was often referred to as the ‘Noddy Bike’, which has absolutely no connection to Enid Blyton’s storybook character – police officers on foot always had to acknowledge senior officers with a salute as they passed but as it was unsafe for riders to take their hands off the handlebars they were told to nod to their superiors instead, hence they became known as Noddies on Noddy bikes.

Through the uniform gallery was the crime room with one corner decked out to look like a detective’s office in the 1950s and featuring various lethal weapons confiscated by the police over the years. There were lots more information panels, photos and fascinating exhibits on display including the tools of Manchester’s most prolific forger, a quantity of fake gold bullion, jewels and banknotes, and Greater Manchester’s first facial reconstruction. Again Sandie was quite happy to chat at length and tell me some very interesting facts and stories surrounding a few of the exhibits, including the tale of a man who was reprieved for a murder he did commit but hanged for a murder he possibly didn’t – these are all stories which deserve to be covered in a future post.

From the crime room I went out into a light and airy atrium with lots of photos and models of different police vehicles used over the years, plus three decommissioned motorbikes and a police horse which sadly wasn’t real, although on some open days during school holidays there are often a couple of horses and their riders in attendance in the rear yard.

Left to right – Norton Commando, BMW Boxer (1990-2008) BMW 1100 RRT

Purchased in December 1974 and used until 1979 the Norton Commando was one of the last Norton motorbikes used by Greater Manchester Police. Unlike the other 64 Nortons in use by GMP this one was originally an unmarked bike used by the Regional Crime Squad but is now fitted with the fairing as used by the uniform branch.

Through the rear door of the atrium and across the cobbled yard I came to the Charge Office, again set up to reflect its past use and with several different truncheons and sets of handcuffs in a ‘hands on’ display, with another very friendly ex-police lady on hand to impart information and answer any questions. The pigeon hole shelves behind the counter were an early equivalent of a key safe – at the close of business shopkeepers would hand in their keys which would be kept overnight in a locked box and handed back the following day, meaning that if a policeman needed to access a property in an emergency he could do so without the owner needing to be there.

A door from the Charge Office led directly to the cells and I have to say that in times past this place must have been pretty grim. Two Victorian sinks stood at the end of the corridor and each cell had just a basic non-flushing toilet in a corner, two wooden beds with wooden ‘pillows’ and one blanket on each. One cell acted as the Reserve Man’s ‘office’ and for the purposes of the museum the walls of another cell were set out as a photo gallery with late 19th/early 20th century mugshots of those who, for whatever reason, had seen the inside of those cells.

In the old Manchester City Police Force every station had a Reserve Man, a constable who would fingerprint prisoners on their arrival and feed them while they were in the cells, also completing any paperwork and cleaning the police station. Apparently some Reserve Men were quite eccentric and one man could often be seen standing on his head in the cell corridor, practicing his yoga, while another would play his violin to entertain the prisoners.

The Reserve Man’s ‘office’

Along the corridor wall were cardboard silhouette cut-outs of men, women and children with each cut-out showing the name, crime and sentence of a person who had been in the cells. The dead duck one rather amused me at the time but thinking about it seriously it really wasn’t funny. Back in Victorian times some people would have been so poor they probably had to resort to crimes like that just to put food on the table.

Back through the Charge Office another door led to what was once the original public entrance to the police station. The double doors are now a fire exit but just a few feet in are the huge iron gates which would have protected the entrance. All the Victorian police stations in Manchester were once fitted with massive iron gates to protect them from rioting mobs and the museum riot gates are now the only ones which survive intact.

Up the nearby stairs was the 1895 Courtroom, which was originally the police station parade room, and the Doctor’s Room which would have been used by police surgeons to attend to officers or prisoners who were sick and to write up reports of post mortems carried out in the mortuary across the station yard. The Courtroom was originally the Magistrates’ Courtroom above Denton Police Station – the courtroom itself closed down in 1980 and the police station at the beginning of the 21st century, then in December 2001 the police museum looked into transferring the courtroom to the museum’s old parade room. Thanks to a 90% grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the remainder of the cost provided by Greater Manchester Police the project went ahead in 2004, and after lots of careful repair and restoration the courtroom was restored to its former glory in its new location.

These 19th century stained glass panels originally formed a roof light at Denton Magistrates Court

Back downstairs the museum was beginning to get quite busy and though I would have liked to get some more photos I knew I wouldn’t be able to do it without other people getting in my way so I decided to head for my usual cafe to grab a coffee before getting the next train home.

Although I spent almost two hours looking round the museum I could have stayed longer as there was so much to see and to read about. Very much like Dr. Who’s Tardis there’s far more on the inside than it looks from the outside though I think my favourite section has to be the Crime Room as it has so many fascinating exhibits and stories. I know I didn’t see everything of interest as there’s so much of it but my visit was so enjoyable I know it won’t be too long before I make a return.