The old fire station opened in Queensway in 1906 in a mock Tudor building. It housed the town's volunteer fire brigade and a horse-drawn steam fire engine, known as ‘Mabel’.The brigade was formed in 1845, making it one of the first in the country. The building is now a café. The 'new' fire station is on the opposite side of the road. Although functional, it typifies the blandness of many public sector buildings of the 1960s.
Author: A Beck