I was having a poke around the internet last week for interesting bits around Covent Garden. One that caught my eye was the police hook in Great Newport Street. Mainly as it is around the corner from where I work three days out of the week. I know I’ve walked by it countless times and never even saw it.
What the heck is a police hook? It’s this thing:
Any guesses at what it was used for? The junction of Great Newport Street, Upper St. Martin’s Lane, Long Acre, Garrick Street, Cranbourne Street and St. Martin’s Lane is, needless to say, a busy one and used to be manned by a member of the Metropolitan Police to direct the traffic. This hook was here for them to hang up their coats and capes while on traffic duty. Neat huh!
Here it is in situ on the building that used to be the Photographer’s Gallery:
Does anyone know of any other police hooks around the capital?
I never would have noticed that! Love the randomness. Does the Met actually own the hook? Or was it simply made available for their use? Can it be used for other purposes? So many questions!