This photograph of the Hampshire Constabulary’s police station in Winchester Street was taken by Charles Wardell in 1967.

It stood on the north side of the Southampton Arms and at least part of its site would be on the present-day green verge beside the South Street flyover, constructed in the 1980s.

At the time of this photograph it had already been superseded by the South Street station and was being used as Hampshire County Council’s Home Help Centre, and also the Civil Defence organisation for the local area, a hangover from World War II.

The building was adopted as the police station in 1859, replacing the borough gaol that stood here before.

Thomas Alexander Banks who was committed for trial over the murder of William Parsons in 1858 may have been the last prisoner there.

He described ‘a damp, unwholesome dungeon, into which the rays of light only penetrated for a few hours of the day [and] condemned by the Inspector of Prisons as unfit for the confinement of any persons whatever’.

The building in the photograph looks no older than 1860, so probably the old gaol was demolished and replaced with a new police station.

The 1873 Ordnance Survey town plan clearly shows a guard room and some cells behind the main building, while the house facing Winchester Street included a front office.

For census purposes, there appear to be three separate households within the complex.

The head of the local force occupied the main building in Winchester Street, together with his wife and family, whereas in two units of accommodation to the rear there were up to four unmarried constables who had to share together while a third house was given to the sergeant and his family

Prisoners who spent a very short time in the local cells while awaiting trial or even for just an overnight stay were not spared the recording of their names on the census.

In 1881, two women ‘hawkers’ were under the supervision of police officer George Mintram, while ten years before, just one prisoner was recorded when the officer in charge was Irishman Thomas Campbell.

It is noticeable that none of the early police officers were locally born and whereas the senior man was likely to be married with children, the constables were all unmarried and in their early twenties.

With each ten-year census, all of the police occupants changed as they were either promoted and moved elsewhere or retired.

Perhaps many of the young recruits did not stay the course and found other jobs or maybe there was a deliberate policy of moving constables around the county.

There were some structural changes to the site in 1911 when a new sergeant’s cottage was built and also improvements to the cells which included heating.

This would have all been to the rear of the main building. After that, the buildings remained largely unchanged for nearly 50 years until the construction of a brand-new police station in South Street which cost almost £40,000.

The new low-lying site meant that concrete piles had to be driven in to support the building while the yard level had to be raised by in-filling to prevent flooding from the nearby river.

After some delay, it was finally opened on 25 September 1959 by Col J B Scott, chairman of the Hampshire Police Authority and remains Andover’s police station to this day.