Lies within the area known as 'The Crofts', within the early post-medieval core of Sheffield (as derived from Gosling's plan of 1736). Originally forming part of the town fields, the area was one of the first to be developed when the town outgrew its medieval limits in the 17th and early 18th centuries. The area contained a mix of housing (mostly built to a high density and often 'back to back'), workshops and early steelworks. By the 19th century the area had gained a reputation as a slum (Belford 2001) leading to widespread clearance of housing in the early 20th century. This large multi-storey building replaced part of this earlier urban environment. The new police station itself superseded the adjacent Victorian police station (now the police and fire museum). No legibility within this polygon of the earlier urban environment.