These two photographs are taken from a Council Newsletter kindly sent to PictureStockton by Janine Connor after comments were published about the mulberry tree outside the Housing Benefits Office formerly the site of the old police station. 
Picture Stockton Archive
A Pictorial History of Stockton-on-Tees
Er, isn”t it “Here we go round the mulberry bush”?
Prior to being the Police Station the building was a girls school, so perhaps the tree was planted then. I know from experience there was no exercise area for prisoners at that Police Station.
What we know about the mulberry tree is that it is rare and has been with us for many years. The first photograph was sent to us by a salesperson who”s relative used to work here when it was a police station. The mulberry tree can be seen in the background. The tree is protected under the town centre conservation area. It may even have it”s own protection order. We do know that the police station was built in the 1880″s and the tree may have been planted then. It was normal to plant trees next to prison areas – that”s where we get the nursery rhyme “Here we go round the mulberry tree….” which was sung by the prisoners when they exercised