Trafalgar Square - Britain's Smallest Police Station

One of the things that may be overlooked in Trafalgar is Britain’s smallest police station. Located in the south-east corner of the square, the police station has quite a touch-and-go history.

A temporary police station was placed outside the tube station entrance at Trafalgar Square at the end of the First World War. Plans were put into place to renovate and make the police station permanent but was met with objections from the public. What they did was to make a lamp post that was hollowed out adding in window slits and light fittings.

This installation was finished in 1926 with the purpose for the Metropolitan Police to observe demonstrations and protests, especially in that year was the general strike. There were claims that the window slits were put in place as to fire out at rioters who got out of hand. It is also said that there was a direct phone line in the police station that was able to link directly to Scotland Yard should there be any trouble. Not only that, each time the phone was used, the light fitting fixed atop would light up alerting nearby officers of impending troubles in the vicinity.

From the pictures below, you can see an ornamental light on top of the police station which is said to be from Nelson’s HMS Victory. The police station now is now used as a cleaning facility cupboard, which has come a long way since the conception in 1926.