Trafalgar Square: Death Eaters Over the Lions

Britain's tiniest police station is a converted 1826 gas lamp plinth located on the southeast corner of Trafalgar Square in London. Created in 1928 by Sir Lionel Edwards to discreetly monitor public gatherings, the hollowed-out stone structure features narrow observation slits and a direct telephone line to Scotland Yard. Used until the 1970s, it could hold one officer or two prisoners, and now serves as a cleaning storeroom.

London Β· from the walk β€œMuggle London, Wizarding Secrets” Β· audio ~3 min Β· Generated

Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 5DN

Why was Britain's tiniest police station built inside a Trafalgar Square lamppost?

Right, now look over there... see that lamp post on the southeast corner? Looks like any other bit of street furniture, doesn't it. That's because it's Meant to look like any other bit of street furniture. But every cabbie in London knows the truth about that one. That, my friend, is Britain's tiniest police station... or more accurately, a police observation box. And the story behind it is pure London.......... Trafalgar Square has long been a focal point for public gatherings and, well, a fair amount of rowdiness. This little structure was created in the late nineteen twenties by hollowing out the plinth of a gas lamp that had stood here since eighteen twenty six.......... See, here's how it happened. A temporary police box had been put up in the square just before World War One. Then during the General Strike of nineteen twenty six, the authorities decided to make it permanent, to keep an eye on all those striking workers. But the public kicked up Such a fuss that the idea was officially shelved.......... So what do you do when you need to spy on the public... but the public won't let you build a spy box? You get Sir Lionel Edwards, head of the Office of Works, to come up with the bright idea of hollowing out the base of one of the square's lamppost plinths. Genius. Hide it in plain sight.......... Final approval came in July nineteen twenty seven to carve out the lamp and convert it into a police observation box. Construction was completed on the nineteenth of March, nineteen twenty eight. They fitted it with narrow slits cut in the side to provide three hundred and sixty degree vision and a direct telephone line to Scotland Yard.......... Now here's the part I love. If a protesting crowd got particularly disorderly, the officer inside could pick up the phone to call Scotland Yard... and the Moment the phone was lifted, the light on top of the box would start flashing to alert any nearby officers that there was trouble. Think about that for a second. You're one lone copper, crammed inside a stone tube, a riot's kicking off around you... and Your hiding spot starts Flashing like a lighthouse. Not exactly ideal, is it.......... They say this tiny box could accommodate up to two prisoners at a time, although its main purpose was to hold a single police officer. Think of it as nineteen twenties Cctv.......... It stayed in use right up to the nineteen seventies, when radio communications finally made it unnecessary. And today? If you peer through those narrow windows, you won't see a bored bobby. Just lots and lots of mops. The station is now used as a storeroom for Westminster Council cleaners.......... Oh, and one more thing. Legend has it that the ornamental lamp on top came from Nelson's flagship, H M S Victory. It's a wonderful tradition... but sadly, it's just that. A tradition that simply isn't true.......... From the most powerful admiral in British history... to a broom cupboard. That's London for you. Always hiding something extraordinary inside the ordinary.

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