Mancpedia

Chester House

Chester House was an 11-storey office block on Boyer Street in the Old Trafford area of Stretford, Trafford. It served as Greater Manchester Police's headquarters from 1979 until 2012, and it was later demolished in 2012-2013.

History

Greater Manchester Police purchased Chester House in 1976 for just over £1 million,[1] in order to consolidate their main administrative and command functions in one place.[2] Prior to this, Headquarter Services were scattered between Southmill Street, Salford, Peterloo House, and Longsight Police Stations.[3]

In 1977 a £962,000 contract was awarded to John Laing Construction to convert the newly purchased Chester House into a suitable headquarters for Greater Manchester Police. This included expanding the office space, providing specialised offices, a dining room, a recreation room, a garage, and more.[4]

From 7th January 1979 onwards, Chester House was occupied and thus became the new police headquarters.[5][1] It allowed different departments to communicate with each other much easier, and a state-of-the-art computer system (the IBM 3750) allowed Greater Manchester Police to link the local police stations together under a common phone number.[3] Later into the year the official opening ceremony was held, and Princess Anne opened Chester House on 30th May 1979.[2]

The Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police had a large office on the top (11th) floor which looked over the nearby Old Trafford Stadium.[6]

Thirty years later, the leadership of Greater Manchester Police had decided that Chester House was too costly to heat and maintain.[6] They vacated Chester House in 2012 to relocate their headquarters to Central Park in Newton Heath, Manchester.[7] Experts had informed Greater Manchester Police that Chester House was pretty much worthless, and so it was decided to demolish the building before selling the remaining estate and land.[6]

By May 2013, Chester House was in the final stages of demolition.[8]

In 2026, demolition of the overall site began, including the remaining car park and building. This is in order to begin the construction of a new neighbourhood consisting of 1,200 homes, a new hotel, and commercial units.[9]

Toponymy

Chester House was almost certainly given its name due to the fact it sat immediately to the south of Chester Road, a major road from the Roman period that runs through a significant stretch of Greater Manchester.

Sources

  1. Manchester Evening News, 9th January 1979, Page 5. ↩ ↩
  2. History of GMP 1974 - 2013, Greater Manchester Police Museum and Archives, accessed 6th April 2026. ↩ ↩
  3. Manchester Evening News, 6th February 1979, Page 30. ↩ ↩
  4. Manchester Evening News, 8th November 1977, Page 17. ↩
  5. Wilmslow and Alderley and Knutsford Advertiser, 4th January 1979, Page 54. ↩
  6. Old Greater Manchester police HQ demolition starts next month - piece by piece, Manchester Evening News, 20th December 2012, accessed 10th April 2026. ↩ ↩ ↩
  7. Wrecking ball prepped for former Trafford GMP HQ, Place North West, 26th June 2025, accessed 5th April 2026. ↩
  8. Farewell to Chester House, Flickr (Greater Manchester Police), 20th May 2013, accessed 5th April 2026. ↩
  9. Milestone reached for proposed new 1,200-home neighbourhood, Trafford Council website, 30th March 2026, accessed 6th April 2026. ↩