Wapping Police Station in London’s east is the oldest still-in-use police station in London.

Located on Wapping High Street close to the River Thames, it is the headquarters for the Marine Policing Unit, once known as the Thames Division and prior to that the Thames River Police (which has the honour of being the world’s oldest policing unit). These days the unit is responsible for policing the 47 miles of the river between Dartford to the east and Hampton Court to the west.

The premises – which opened in 1908 (although there has apparently been a building for river police at this site since 1798) – is now a Grade II-listed building.

Designed by architect John Dixon Butler (he succeeded his father as the Metropolitan Police architect in 1895), the building at 98 Wapping High Street features a five bay street front with a central courtyard and a riverside block.

It also houses a mortuary and the Thames Police Museum which, established in 1974, has a range of exhibits including uniforms, handcuffs and cutlasses.

The title of the oldest still-in-use police station previously belonged to Penge Police Station, built in 1872, until its closure in 2010.