Greater Manchester Police Museum - Manchester

The Greater Manchester Police Museum and Archives enables you to experience what life was really like for these officers in a busy Victorian police station. 

You’ll also see how times have changed and how policing has evolved to meet today’s needs.

Now imagine a busy police station in the heart of that city from where police officers arrested criminals and upheld the law. History is brought back to life at the Police Museum!

Located in the historic Northern Quarter of Manchester, the Police Museum was one of the city’s earliest police stations and has been lovingly restored to reflect the reality of policing in the late 1800s/ 1900s.

See where Manchester’s criminals were charged, fingerprinted and booked and discover the cells that were often packed with 12 men on a busy night. Why not have a seat on the cell beds with their wooden pillows.

Admire the polished wood panels and stained glass of the genuine 1895 Magistrates Court and experience how inmates would have felt standing in the dock.

The Museum has galleries displaying historic uniform and equipment and vehicles from the 1950s onwards. The Crime Room invites you into the world of forgery and forensic science while our brand new audio-visual gallery allows you to immerse yourself in history with footage from our on-site archives.

History of the GMP Museum and Archives

The Museum was founded in 1981. Funded by Greater Manchester Police, it not only collects and preserves archive material and objects relating to the history of policing in the Greater Manchester area, (please refer to the Researchers and Family History section below) but acts as an important resource for community engagement, where visitors can talk to staff and volunteers about policing.

This year, the Museum was visited by BBC Radio Manchester's Allan Beswick as part of a profile of the region's museums. It was broadcast on Tuesday, 20th July 2010 on BBC North West Tonight. Watch the broadcast here.