ABC Wednesday - Fire Station

I was passing this building on the way to somewhere else in London but managed a snap, while thinking wow an 'Arts and Crafts' Fire Station, who would have thought it.  No need to guess when it was built there it is in bold lettering '1902', not only a fire station but also with flats.  At first I thought this building was no longer used as a fire station because the large doors are blocked by cars but I was wrong for behind them are not the fire engines but a reception area.  A historical listed building described as "red brick laid in English bond with Portland stone dressing in the Arts and Crafts domestic style", the architect was Percy Erskine Nobbs (1874-1964) who went on to design many building in Montreal, Canada in the same style.

The Fire Brigade in London was at one time funded by city businesses but following an Act of Parliament in 1866 the local authority was charged with saving lives and protecting buildings resulting in the first publicly funded Brigade for the city. The building boom of the 1890s to the 1900s resulted in giving the Brigade "bespoke designs and characterful buildings". Well this one certainly fits that description.

Here is an old photo of the full building I found on the London Fire Journal blog (written in the USA).  Are you wondering where the fire engines are kept?  I missed them off my photo and this old one does not show them either.  Here comes the Turnout...

An entry to ABC Wednesday Round 10, a journey from A to Z