It's not easy finding info out about the history of this place, I can only recount what I know myself as it's local.
Not really worth the effort in the end but in the interest of documenting these things ill present a report.
In 1856 the county and borough act made county and borough police forces compulsory in England and Wales and subject to central inspection. By then around thirty counties had already voluntarily created police forces.
Since the 1940's various other acts have been passed that amalgamated various forces, produced new ones, shut down others and so on.
In the peak district (and im sure everywhere else) it's quite common for each town and village to have a police station or if not at least an outpost, often this was anything from an unmanned office in the local church or council building to a semi manned converted house on an estate or of course purpose made stations of varying sizes carrying permanent staff.
Around 25 years ago the powers that be started closing down the small satalite stations in the various small villages dotted around. Most were converted into houses or knocked down all together for development, those that had semi permanent staff started to come up with ways to try and justify their existence.
Chapels police station has moved a few times throughout history, once on the market place in dust road times it then moved up the road where there the reinforced looking cell side of the building still teases any unknowing observer as to its previous use. The current station was only ever semi manned as long as I can remember, there was often someone in one of the offices or milling about outside but they never really seemed to be of any help other than raidioing the beat officers to come back and deal with you, anything serious and you were taken to buxton station. I think it was around 25 years ago they put up the smaller building to the left, this was much later to be a base for the police motor bikes but I don't think it lasted long.
After a while it became harder to wake someone up there so they installed a yellow telephone which rang through to Buxton station switch board who then sent the nearest officer over to you, if it could be delt with there they did otherwise they took you to buxton. This stayed like this until around 15 years ago when they decided to make it the areas main traffic police station which was funny as the car park wasn't big enough to take all the cars so they were often illegally parked on the pavement down the road outside lol.
Try as they might it just didn't work for them, after 10 years or so they moved traffic back to Buxton and eventually Ripley I believe. Chapel station remained as a satalite base for the yellow telephone for a while then a year or two ago they started closing all the local stations. The local pcso once told me Chapel now has an official response time of 1h 26m, if someone is free that is.
With a new housing estate recently built behind the station developers were keen to develop the station site as well and now they have got their hands on it and applied for planning permission for new houses it won't be long before it's demoed.
The planning on this one was certainly the enjoyable/exciting part as the explore wasn't worth the effort in the end.
As with most places like this I've been to, it's been emptied and cleaned. I was sure some stuff would have gone but still wanted to get inside.
This one turned into one of those that kept niggling me, I had seen it start of summer when the fencing went up and had noticed the rear fire doors had been left open not long after. Through one reason or another I didn't get to it until end of summer but the doors were still open, unfortunatley I phisically couldn't get to them.
Fast forward a good few weeks and countless abandoned reccy attempts due to neighbours, dog walkers, joggers and even one morning getting gripped by the police I finally got into the compound where the doors are however I did this on the only night I didn't check to see if they were still open to which sods law they wernt, they were shut up tight.
After many failed attempts recently at various things I finally got in, I did both buildings but they were a very simular set up to each other . I didn't do the garages they are locked at the moment.
From memory you went in on the left end of the main building, on the left was a toilet i think and infront was some chairs for waiting, on the right a small counter with the usual crime leaflets. Then you turned went upstairs to an interview room and downstairs past a little kitchen was a room with mats on the floor they held you in if you was waiting for the van. That's about all I remember and walking round tonight things seemed different.
Ill shut up now and just post the pics, the first few from the building on the left and the rest from the main one. All the offices were the same and all artefacts gone. Downstairs was a pile of crap that looked part rubbish and part contractors tools.
I'm just glad I can stop thinking about it now. Sorry for the pics, I've a lot more but the phone doesn't get small rooms in frame properly so chose a handful of the better ones, really not much to see here it was more about not letting it beat me.
Not really worth the effort in the end but in the interest of documenting these things ill present a report.
In 1856 the county and borough act made county and borough police forces compulsory in England and Wales and subject to central inspection. By then around thirty counties had already voluntarily created police forces.
Since the 1940's various other acts have been passed that amalgamated various forces, produced new ones, shut down others and so on.
In the peak district (and im sure everywhere else) it's quite common for each town and village to have a police station or if not at least an outpost, often this was anything from an unmanned office in the local church or council building to a semi manned converted house on an estate or of course purpose made stations of varying sizes carrying permanent staff.
Around 25 years ago the powers that be started closing down the small satalite stations in the various small villages dotted around. Most were converted into houses or knocked down all together for development, those that had semi permanent staff started to come up with ways to try and justify their existence.
Chapels police station has moved a few times throughout history, once on the market place in dust road times it then moved up the road where there the reinforced looking cell side of the building still teases any unknowing observer as to its previous use. The current station was only ever semi manned as long as I can remember, there was often someone in one of the offices or milling about outside but they never really seemed to be of any help other than raidioing the beat officers to come back and deal with you, anything serious and you were taken to buxton station. I think it was around 25 years ago they put up the smaller building to the left, this was much later to be a base for the police motor bikes but I don't think it lasted long.
After a while it became harder to wake someone up there so they installed a yellow telephone which rang through to Buxton station switch board who then sent the nearest officer over to you, if it could be delt with there they did otherwise they took you to buxton. This stayed like this until around 15 years ago when they decided to make it the areas main traffic police station which was funny as the car park wasn't big enough to take all the cars so they were often illegally parked on the pavement down the road outside lol.
Try as they might it just didn't work for them, after 10 years or so they moved traffic back to Buxton and eventually Ripley I believe. Chapel station remained as a satalite base for the yellow telephone for a while then a year or two ago they started closing all the local stations. The local pcso once told me Chapel now has an official response time of 1h 26m, if someone is free that is.
With a new housing estate recently built behind the station developers were keen to develop the station site as well and now they have got their hands on it and applied for planning permission for new houses it won't be long before it's demoed.
The planning on this one was certainly the enjoyable/exciting part as the explore wasn't worth the effort in the end.
As with most places like this I've been to, it's been emptied and cleaned. I was sure some stuff would have gone but still wanted to get inside.
This one turned into one of those that kept niggling me, I had seen it start of summer when the fencing went up and had noticed the rear fire doors had been left open not long after. Through one reason or another I didn't get to it until end of summer but the doors were still open, unfortunatley I phisically couldn't get to them.
Fast forward a good few weeks and countless abandoned reccy attempts due to neighbours, dog walkers, joggers and even one morning getting gripped by the police I finally got into the compound where the doors are however I did this on the only night I didn't check to see if they were still open to which sods law they wernt, they were shut up tight.
After many failed attempts recently at various things I finally got in, I did both buildings but they were a very simular set up to each other . I didn't do the garages they are locked at the moment.
From memory you went in on the left end of the main building, on the left was a toilet i think and infront was some chairs for waiting, on the right a small counter with the usual crime leaflets. Then you turned went upstairs to an interview room and downstairs past a little kitchen was a room with mats on the floor they held you in if you was waiting for the van. That's about all I remember and walking round tonight things seemed different.
Ill shut up now and just post the pics, the first few from the building on the left and the rest from the main one. All the offices were the same and all artefacts gone. Downstairs was a pile of crap that looked part rubbish and part contractors tools.
I'm just glad I can stop thinking about it now. Sorry for the pics, I've a lot more but the phone doesn't get small rooms in frame properly so chose a handful of the better ones, really not much to see here it was more about not letting it beat me.
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