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John Dixon Butler

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John Dixon Butler
RA FRIBA
Tower Bridge Magistrates' Court and Police Station, now the Dixon Hotel. Named in honour of Dixon Butler, Cherry and Pevsner call it "quite spectacular of its date".[1]
BornDecember 1860
Died27 October 1920
OccupationArchitect
ParentJohn Butler
PracticeSurveyor to the Metropolitan Police 1895–1920
Buildings

John Dixon Butler RA, FRIBA (December 1860[2] – 27 October 1920) was a British architect and Surveyor to the Metropolitan Police in London, a position he held from 1895 until his death. He completed some 200 buildings during his career, nearly all police stations and courthouses, of which about 58 survive. Historic England have included some 21 of these buildings on the National Historic List of England and Wales.

Dixon Butler studied under Richard Norman Shaw, working with him on designs for the Metropolitan Police's Scotland Yard and Canon Row Police Station headquarters on London's Embankment, beginning a professional relationship with the force that continued until Dixon Butler's death. Elected a fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) in 1906, Dixon Butler retired to Surrey where he died in 1920.

Early life

Dixon Butler was born in December 1860[2] at 2 Seymour Terrace (now Walk) in Kensington, London.[3] He was the only son and the second of two children to John Butler (1828–1900), an architect, and his wife, Hannah née Deavin.[4] Dixon Butler studied at University College London and the Architectural Association, before being articled to his father, from whom he leant about the design and planning of police-related buildings.[5]

Dixon Butler worked under Richard Norman Shaw in the 1880s and assisted him on the designs for Scotland Yard.[6] The position was reversed at Canon Row on London's Embankment, where Dixon Butler was the lead architect and Norman Shaw acted as consultant.[7] Dixon Butler's father, John, had been the appointed Surveyor for the Metropolitan Police in 1881. Upon his retirement in 1895,[8] Dixon Butler succeeded him, a role he retained until his death.[a][5]

Surveyor for the Metropolitan Police

The Metropolitan Police Force Surveyorship was established in 1842.[b][c][11] The force's first purpose built station was at Bow Street in 1831 and was erected two years after Sir Robert Peel's Metropolitan Police Act of 1829. There was a boom in police stations during the 1880s following the political unrest of that decade and high-profile events such as the Whitechapel Murders.[14] Cherry, O'Brien and Pevsner, in their London: East volume of the Buildings of England series, record Dixon Butler's "unique" riverside police stations for the Thames River Police, founded in 1798 to combat piracy,[15] including his station at Wapping which now houses the Thames River Police Museum.[16][17]

The following decade, and as a result of a violent demonstration outside the station in Bow Street, the force decided to have separate entrances for their constables and the public, and to have officers live within the stations and under the supervision of senior colleagues. Extra provisions were also made for the care of prisoners in all of his police stations, when they were incarcerated in cells, having been remanded for court. It was a design that Dixon Butler retained when he took over from his father as the force's surveyor in 1895.[14] Dixon Butler was as conscious of the exteriors of his buildings as he was sensitive to the interiors, predominantly designing them to fit in with the newly developed suburban areas where his stations were built. Cherry, O'Brien and Pevsner note the half-timbering on the upper-storeys of Dixon Butler's stations at Chadwell Heath and Woodford Bridge.[15] His designs include features which give his buildings strong municipal accents, such as iron railings and lintels inscribed "Police" or "Police Station", set in stone dressings. Another Dixon Butler trademark is the use of elaborate consoles to doors and windows.[18] These elements give his designs their architectural quality[14] creating a "characteristic type which can be recognised all over London".[18] Historic England describes him as "one of the most accomplished Metropolitan Police architects".[5]

Buildings

Dixon Butler designed Northwood Police Station in the Old English style, sensitive to the fact that at that time, Northwood was semi-rural, whilst acknowledging the proximity to London, through its station on the London Underground Metropolitan line.[14] He designed similar police stations at Pinner and at Kew. Pinner Police Station, designed in 1897, was perhaps the most domesticated of all his stations, and was equipped with living quarters for a married sergeant and his family, including two bedrooms, a living room, a scullery and a larder. Elsewhere, the building had a lobby, waiting room, inspector's office, charge room, parade room, three cells, a stable for two horses and an attached ambulance shed.[4]

Dixon Butler completed around 200 buildings during his career, nearly all police stations and courthouses, of which around 58 survive. A number have been converted to other uses, including three, Tower Bridge Magistrates Court and Police Station (now The Dixon),[19] Marlborough Street Magistrates Court (now The Courthouse Hotel)[20] and Shoreditch Magistrates Court and Police Station (now The Courthouse, Shoreditch),[21] which have been converted to hotels. Historic England have included 21 of these buildings on the National Historic List of England and Wales.[5] All are listed Grade II, with the exception of Canon Row Police Station which is given the higher grading of II*.[22]

Existing buildings

Personal life and death

An active Freemason, Dixon Butler joined the Baldwin Lodge in Dalton-in-Furness on 11 June 1890[48] and five years later, was initiated at the Mount Moriah Lodge, Tower Hill.[49] He married Hannah Frazer (1854–1924)[50] in March 1901;[51] they had no children.[52] He was elected a fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) in 1906.[5]

Dixon Butler retired to Molesey, Surrey, where he died on 27 October 1920. He is interred in the churchyard of St John's in Woking.[53] His former Tower Bridge Police Station and Court, now a hotel, is named The Dixon in commemoration of his life and works.[54]

Notes

  1. ^ The police station on Bethnal Green Road in Tower Hamlets in East London, is a rare example of both Dixon Butler's work and that of his father. John Butler designed the original station in 1892 and it was extended and refaced by his son in 1917.[9] Another example is the North Building at Scotland Yard where R. Norman Shaw first worked up a preliminary design by John Butler, and subsequently completed the building with assistance from Dixon Butler.[10]
  2. ^ The post of Surveyor to the Metropolitan Police has been held by only nine people since its establishment in 1842, with five of the Surveyors serving for terms of over twenty years; Charles Reeves (1842–1866), John Dixon Butler (1895–1920), Gilbert Mackenzie Trench (1921–1947), J. Innes Elliot (1947–1974) and T. Lawrence from 1988.[11]
  3. ^ Gilbert Mackenzie Trench was the designer of the Metropolitan Police box which was subsequently the inspiration for the TARDIS.[12][13]

References

  1. ^ Cherry & Pevsner 2002a, p. 602.
  2. ^ a b "England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837-1915". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  3. ^ Census of 1861: Class: RG 9; Piece: 22; Folio: 10; Page: 12; GSU roll: 542558
  4. ^ a b c Historic England. "Pinner Police Station including stable block, boundary wall, gate pier and fences, bollards and police lamps (Grade II) (1411163)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Historic England. "Former Police Station and Courthouse, including stable and harness room, railings and lamps (Grade II) (1130397)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  6. ^ Saint 2010, pp. 291–295.
  7. ^ "John Dixon Butler (1861—1920)". Oxford Reference. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  8. ^ Bradley & Pevsner 2003, xv.
  9. ^ Cherry, O'Brien & Pevsner 2005, p. 578.
  10. ^ Bradley & Pevsner 2003, p. 248.
  11. ^ a b Cherry & Pevsner 2002b, p. 21.
  12. ^ Historic England. "Metropolitan Police Box at National Tramway Museum (1109166)". National Heritage List for England.
  13. ^ Roberts, Andrew (1 October 2019). "What Was The London Police Box". The Oldie.
  14. ^ a b c d Historic England. "Police Station (Grade II) (1393152)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  15. ^ a b Cherry, O'Brien & Pevsner 2005, p. 73.
  16. ^ Cherry, O'Brien & Pevsner 2005, p. 507.
  17. ^ "Thames Police – The Museum". www.thamespolicemuseum.org.uk. Thames Police. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  18. ^ a b Cherry & Pevsner 2002c, p. 52.
  19. ^ O’Flaherty, Mark C. (27 March 2019). "Hotel Hit Squad: A hotel in a former magistrate's court? The Dixon is judged to be a guilty pleasure, but the witticisms are criminal". The Telegraph. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  20. ^ Valentine, Hannah (27 November 2018). "The Courthouse Hotel: Law and Luxury comes to Soho". Glass Magazine.
  21. ^ Butler, Alex (9 May 2016). "Former London police station and court house where Kray twins appeared becomes hotel". Lonely Planet.
  22. ^ "Dixon Butler Search". Historic England. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  23. ^ Historic England. "Camberwell Police Station and attached lamp bracket (Grade II) (1378397)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  24. ^ Historic England. "Canon Row Police Station (Grade II*) (1357244)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  25. ^ Bradley & Pevsner 2003, p. 660.
  26. ^ Historic England. "Court House and Police Station, Old Street (Grade II) (1376533)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  27. ^ Historic England. "Police Station and stables (Grade II) (1393152)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  28. ^ Historic England. "Newham Police Station (Grade II) (1253087)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  29. ^ Historic England. "The Police Station, Lower Clapton (Grade II) (1264866)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  30. ^ Cherry, O'Brien & Pevsner 2005, p. 312.
  31. ^ Historic England. "Former Clerkenwell Magistrates Court and attached railings (Grade II) (1195651)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  32. ^ Cherry & Pevsner 2002c, p. 520.
  33. ^ Historic England. "Tower Bridge Magistrates Court, Police Station and railings (Grade II) (1385973)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  34. ^ Historic England. "Wapping Police Station (Grade II) (1411163)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  35. ^ Historic England. "Sutton Police Station, gate piers and police lamps (Grade II) (1244322)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  36. ^ Historic England. "Greenwich Magistrates Court (Grade II) (1272459)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  37. ^ Bradley & Pevsner 2003, p. 397.
  38. ^ "Golden Square Area: Beak Street". Survey of London. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  39. ^ Historic England. "Greenwich Police Station (Grade II) (1391898)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  40. ^ Cherry, O'Brien & Pevsner 2005, p. 127.
  41. ^ Rasiah, Janine; Silverman, Anna (29 May 2015). "Poll: Flats plan for former Barking police station". Barking and Dagenham Post.
  42. ^ Historic England. "Harrow Road Police Station including stable block, boundary wall, gate pier and fences, bollards and police lamps (Grade II) (1263477)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  43. ^ Cherry, O'Brien & Pevsner 2005, p. 253.
  44. ^ Historic England. "Woolwich Magistrates Court (Grade II) (1391897)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  45. ^ Bradley & Pevsner 2003, pp. 410–411.
  46. ^ Historic England. "19–21 Great Marlborough Street (Grade II) (1066742)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  47. ^ Historic England. "West London Magistrates Court (Grade II) (1379935)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  48. ^ Library and Museum of Freemasonry; London, England; Freemasonry Membership Registers; Description: Membership Registers: Country Q 1391–1482 to Country R 1486–1575; Reel Number: 16.
  49. ^ Library and Museum of Freemasonry; London, England; Freemasonry Membership Registers; Description: Membership Registers: London A Lodges Grand Stewards Lodge to 87; Reel Number: 1.
  50. ^ Surrey History Centre; Woking, Surrey, England; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Reference: WOKJ/4/6
  51. ^ "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  52. ^ "John Dixon Butler". Ancestry.com. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  53. ^ "Deaths", Ealing Gazette and West Middlesex Observer, 6 November 1920, p. 4.
  54. ^ Leahy, Kate (27 January 2019). "The Dixon: London's converted courtroom hotel". The Times.

Sources

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