West Midlands Police Museum

The West Midlands Police Museum is located in a wing of Sparkhill police station, Birmingham, England, which was formerly a courtroom.[1][2]

West Midlands Police Museum
The museum's entrance, in Court Road
LocationCourt Road, Sparkhill, Birmingham, England
Coordinates52.45060°N 1.86488°W / 52.45060; -1.86488
TypePolice museum
Collections
OwnerWest Midlands Police
Websitewww.westmidlandspolicemuseum.co.uk
The museum's oil portrait of Sir Charles Horton Rafter, 1923, artist unknown
The Victorian cell block at Steelhouse Lane police station

One of two museums operated by the West Midlands Police, it is only open by appointment or on occasional open days.[1][3] The main part of the collection relates to Birmingham City Police.[1]

The museum houses comprehensive archives of the West Midlands Police and its predecessors dating back to the formation of Birmingham City Police in 1839,[4][5] as well as a small collection of paintings, including a portrait of Sir Charles Horton Rafter, the longest-serving Chief Constable of Birmingham.[6] The archives contain records of all police officers who served in the area of the present West Midlands Police and are of particular interest to genealogists.[7]

Sparkhill Library occupies the adjacent building.

There are plans to relocate the museum to the Victorian listed cell block at Steelhouse Lane police station.[8]

References
  1. "Police museum". West Midlands Police. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  2. "West Midlands Police Museum". The Caravan Club. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  3. "Repository Details". ARCHON Directory. The National Archives. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  4. "Birmingham City Police 1839 -1974". West Midlands Police. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  5. Young, Gary (17 December 2013). "West Midlands Police Museum goes back to Victorian times". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  6. "Your Paintings - West Midlands Police Museum". Art UK. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  7. "Genealogy Information". West Midlands Police. Archived from the original on 19 August 2013. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  8. "Police museum takes a leap closer to reality". West Midlands Police. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
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