From police cells to des res: I went inside a 291-year-old former police station in Dudley which is being turned into flats

If you stand on tiptoe, you can see the courtyard outside from the high, barred windows, which were carefully designed to prevent prisoners from breaking free. And the surroundings are... well, pretty stylish, actually.

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What would have once been a rather drab cell block at Sedgley police station is now a bright, airy open-plan living space, with a hi-tech fitted kitchen and deep-pile carpets.

And while the previous occupants of the cells may have become accustomed to 'slopping out', the trendy flat which has taken their place now has an up-to-the-minute en-suite shower room.

The 291-year-old building, which was also home to Sedgley magistrates court, is being converted into nine flats after the last officers were moved to Dudley fire station in October 2020.

Liam Floyd, of Taylors Estate Agents, which is marketing the building, says great care has been taken to preserve its original features. 

"We've got the original prison doors, and as you can see we've got the bars at the windows here as well, which they've kept," he says.

"They were really keen to keep a lot of the original features, which I believe is costing them more money. But of course the outcome is a lot more interesting."

Across the courtyard - which is now more of a landscaped garden area - are what were once the courtrooms where the ne'er-do-wells of the Black Country would once have appeared.

Work is still gathering pace in the lower court, but the upper flat is now nearing completion. 

"They removed a false ceiling and found the original wooden beams behind, which have now been preserved as a feature of the apartment," says Mr Floyd.

The building dates back to 1734, when the Earl of Dudley donated land which would be used to create a workhouse in the village.

In the early 1860s, the building was converted into a police station, complete with holding cells and a courtroom. A lease agreement dated October 11,1864, formalised its use by the Staffordshire county authorities in return for a rent of £60 a year.

Reorganisation of the police force saw it become part of the short-lived West Midlands Constabulary in 1966, and then part of the enlarged West Midlands Police force in 1974.

The magistrates court closed in 1988, and was later used as the control room for Dudley borough's closed-circuit television network. The police station's front desk was manned by volunteers from 2014 onwards, before eventually closing to the public altogether. 

It remained in use as a police base, but but the last officers left iin October 2020, a year later than had been originally planned. 

The building was sold at an auction, appearing on the television programme Homes Under the Hammer.

People are invited to view the new flats, which start from £245,000, during an open day on July 26, with viewings at 9.30am and midday.