Most people enjoying a drink or meal inside The Treasury in Plymouth have no idea what still survives beneath their feet.
Hidden underneath the historic building are underground police cells, original holding areas, Victorian corridors and remnants of a justice system that once operated at the heart of the city.
Today, The Treasury is one of Plymouth’s best-known hospitality venues, attracting customers for food, cocktails and live entertainment. But long before it became a modern bar and restaurant, this part of Catherine Street formed part of Plymouth’s old civic and policing complex alongside the Guildhall.
And much of that history still remains.
Walking through the former police station building next door feels like entering another chapter of Plymouth’s past. Original heavy doors remain in place, while small processing areas and viewing hatches still survive from the days when officers brought prisoners into the building from the street outside.
Below street level, the old police cells are still there.
Barred windows positioned at pavement height allow faint natural light into the underground rooms, offering a glimpse into how the cells would once have felt decades ago. Original corridors, holding spaces and secure doors continue to survive beneath the modern city above.
Elsewhere inside the building are surviving gun cabinets, sections of early electrical systems and even parts of the original lift workings once used to move people through the station between cells, offices and courtrooms.
Some of the smaller details are among the most striking.
Inside former washrooms, beautiful old sinks remain in place alongside black-and-white tiled walls and flooring dating back many years. Hidden within the building are also the original workings connected to The Treasury clock, mechanical engineering from another generation that still survives behind closed cabinets today
The clock continues to overlook proceedings exactly as it has for decades.
The historic site is now preparing for another transformation.
Plans have been approved to convert the former police station building into a boutique-style hotel linked with The Treasury, creating a new future for one of Plymouth’s most historic properties. The transformation is being led by Treasury owner Ben Shearn, who is overseeing the next chapter of the landmark city centre site.
The development is expected to bring new life into the building while preserving many of the historic features that make the site unique. For many people, it could become one of the few places where guests can stay overnight inside part of a former police headquarters while surrounded by visible reminders of the building’s past.
The contrast between old and new is impossible to ignore.
Above ground, customers enjoy the atmosphere of one of Plymouth’s busiest hospitality venues. Beneath it, hidden corridors, underground cells and forgotten systems still tell the story of the people who once passed through the building when it operated as part of Plymouth’s justice system.
For decades, most people simply walked past without ever realising what was hidden underneath.
Now, as the site prepares for its next chapter, part of that hidden history is finally beginning to re-emerge.
Photographs and Video © Wayne Perry / Plymouth Post