Renovated police station complete with jail cells lands on the market for £600k

You might not hear ‘police station’ and think ‘ooh, homey’, but give this place a minute to change your mind.

On Priory Lane in Royston, Hertfordshire, sits what used to serve as a police station, but has now been transformed into a stunning – and super unique – home.

And it’s up for sale, with an asking price of £600,000.

The four-bedroom home was previously the Old Magistrates Court, constructed in 1883 as part of Royston’s police station and sergeant’s house.

That means that it originally had a court room and prison cells – and these are still in place, but it’s up to you what you use them for (perhaps a nice walk-in wardrobe in the jail bit?).

The building was renovated by its current owner to turn it into a pretty glorious home, flooded with natural light and with nice high ceilings.

We’ll talk you through the tour.

Enter on the ground floor to find the kitchen and family room, complete with double-height ceilings, hardwood flooring, and a grand fireplace, along with a sleek kitchen island under a bunch of spotlights.

From here, you can see the mezzanine living area up the stairs, but we’ll stay on this level for a moment to check out the other rooms.

Down here is where you’ll find the original prison cells, which still have their heavy wooden doors and imposing locks.

The brick rooms do have windows, and if you’re not bothered by their past use, they could be used for all sorts of purposes. Previously, the cells have served as a home office, a gym, a laundry room, and a play room.

We quite like the home office idea. If you’re prone to procrastination and get easily distracted, you could get your housemate to lock you in there and refuse to let you out until your work is all done. Genius.

Also on the ground floor is an additional boot room, a utility space, a dining room, a sitting room, and a toilet.

Downstairs from here is a large cellar, which houses the boiler, but if you go up a level instead, you’ll find the bedrooms – there are four all together, with the main bedroom having an en-suite bathroom, too.

Outside there’s a garden that gives no hint to the property’s police station past apart from its large patioed seating area, which was previously used as the exercise yard for inmates.

These days, rather than running laps or shooting hoops, you’re encouraged to use this space for entertaining – check out the brick-built gas fire, barbeque, and slate-topped prep area, complete with a sink.

There are also some fruit trees.