West Midlands Police Museum

The West Midlands Police Museum sits in a former Victorian cell block on Steelhouse Lane in Birmingham. The building served as a police station from 1891 until 2016. It is now a Grade II listed structure after a heritage lottery-funded refurbishment. The museum shares the site with the former Steelhouse Lane police station, which once included a courtroom. It is one of two museums run by West Midlands Police, the other located in Coventry. The collection traces the history of policing in the region back to before 1839. Artefacts and archives cover the West Midlands Police and its predecessors. Among the displays is a portrait of Sir Charles Haughton Rafter, the longest-serving Chief Constable of Birmingham. The records include details of officers who served across the present force area. The museum also holds a small collection of paintings alongside police-related objects. Visitors find themselves inside the original cell block, where the atmosphere of the Victorian era remains. The refurbished space includes displays of uniforms, equipment and documents from past decades. The museum offers a quiet insight into the daily work of officers over many generations. The building’s history as both a station and courtroom adds depth to the experience. The setting provides a rare chance to see how policing evolved in Birmingham.