John Innes Elliott CBE FRSA (13 November 1912 – 3 December 1989) was a British architect who, for twenty-seven years, was the surveyor and chief architect for the Metropolitan Police in London. He held the post from 1947 to his retirement in 1974. He was the seventh such architect to hold the post since its inception in 1842. He took over the role from Gilbert Mackenzie Trench, who retired in 1945. Elliott's designs were carried out in the brutalist style.
Life and career edit
Born in Liverpool, Elliott trained at the Liverpool School of Architecture between 1930–35, where he was tutored by Lionel Bailey Budden and Charles Herbert Reilly. Elliott gained employment as an architectural assistant to a travel company in Wallasey[1], which he coincided with his studies. In the late 1930s he worked for the Office of Works in the branch for Ancient Monuments and Historic Buildings. During the war he assisted in the design of post-war housing. In the 1940s he moved to London where he was appointed the surveyor to the Metropolitan Police in 1947, after the retirement of Gilbert Mackenzie Trench two years previously.
Elliott was made a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1974 New Year Honours list and retired later that year, having completed his designs for the buildings within Hendon Police College, Colindale.[2]
Partial list of buildings edit
| Name | Photograph | Opened | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brixton Police Station |  |
1953 | Closed to the public.[3] |
| Albany Street Police Station |  |
1960 | Closed to the public in 2013. |
| Whetstone Police Station |  |
1960 | Closed to the public in 2013. Now a school. |
| Holborn Police Station |  |
1962[4] | Still in use. |
| Lavender Hill Police Station and Magistrates Court | 1963[5] | ||
| Holloway Police Station | 1965 | Closed and sold in 2017. | |
| Croydon Police Station | 1967 | ||
| Brentford Police Station | 1967 | Closed to the public in 2013. | |
| Woodford Police Station | 1968 | Closed to the public in 2013. | |
| West Ham Police Station | 1969 | Closed to the public in 2019. | |
| Paddington Green Police Station |  |
1971 | |
| Leman Street Police Station | 1971 | Closed to the public in 2017, although still operational. | |
| Chiswick Police Station | 1972 | Closed to the public in 2017. | |
| Hendon Police College | 1974 | Buildings on the site include the Peel buildings, tower blocks, and traffic garage and driving school. Demolished 2013-14. | |
References edit
- ^ "A Pioneer Wireless comedian found dead", Liverpool Daily Post, 15 May 1934, p. 10.
- ^ "Another honour for Lord Cohen Who’s who in the New Year honours list", Liverpool Daily Post, 2 January 1974, p.6.
- ^ "An exterior view of Brixton Police Station showing the newly built extension on Gresham Road", Historic England, accessed 14 April 2024.
- ^ Cherry & Pevsner 1998, p. 262.
- ^ "Public Buildings", University College London, p. 67.
Sources edit
- Cherry, Bridget; Pevsner, Nikolaus (1998). London 4: North. The Buildings of England. Newhaven, US and London: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-09653-8. OCLC 719418475.