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COFFEE AT TAVISTOCK PLACE

 


                                            The Former Reception Area of BTP FHQ Tavistock Place.  


Yesterday whilst walking between King’s Cross and an appointment in Bloomsbury I called in to 15 Tavistock Place for a cup of coffee

What was once BTP FHQ is now part of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.  The old reception area is now a public café.  It seemed strange sitting there surrounded by people working on their laptops and drinking tea.

Tavistock Place was FHQ for around a quarter of a century and represented a major step up from the facilities offered at Park Royal, the first FHQ for BTP.  For a while in 2005, after all the other departments had moved out our team, The Counter Terrorism Support Unit, had the run of the place.  A surreal time in many ways.  From my office I could see the blue plaque (BP) on the houses opposite that commemorated the occupancy of Lenin during his exile.  A couple of doors down is another plaque to the author Jerome K Jerome.  The FHQ building has yet another BP (the area is full of them), rather oddly marking the site of the residence of a mistress of the Duke of York.

FHQ was at the epicentre of the attacks of the 7th July 2005.



                                            The Wall Bears the Marks of the Brass Plaque That Announced the                 Occupation of the Building By BTP and Probably Express Dairies Before It

As is well known the building had previously been occupied by Express Dairies.  The back yard that once housed milk floats and, in our time, police vehicles, has now been partly built on.  FHQ carried the nickname ‘the dairy’ for the whole of my service.  I wonder if anyone still refers to FHQ using that descriptor?

Commpared to other forces Tavistock Place was a humble establishment.  This is not the place for the many stories that are attached to the place, but I do recall one Saturday meeting a newly appointed Deputy Chief Constable standing on the pavement outside, unable to gain access.  I think he was rather surprised when I told him that the 'universal' yale key he had been given was all that was needed to get in when the doors were closed.  All rather different from New Scotland Yard!


                                            The main entrance, once guarded by uniform officers and later by professional security staff.  Now open to all who seek a space to drink tea and to stare at screens.

FHQ moved to Camden and, more recently, to Victoria.  A reminder that neither BTP nor the BTP Authority, own any property.  Unlike many forces BTP has no property portfolio inherited from the Victorian era of investment in police facilities.  Rail privatisation left the force on its own when it came to bricks and mortar.  The force manages by using leased and rented property with some operators still providing space on favourable terms.   There are many tales to tell of the accomodation used by the force - it always used to be said that if you can't find the BTP office look for the toilets and you won't be far off!

History can be found in many places.  The built environment offers clues to the past and for the romantic, (not a description that applies to this author alas), the echoes of what has gone before can sometimes be heard.  More accurately buildings etc can bring back memories.

 

Phil Trendall

November 2025

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