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Sherlock Holmes Museum

 
Travel Guide: Sherlock Holmes Museum
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  • Location: 239 Baker St.
    Westminster, London

According to creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes and his sidekick Dr. Watson lived at 221B Baker Street from 1881-1904. Today we can visit the famous study, which still stands as it was in Victorian times. Up a flight of 17 steps, the study and adjoining bedroom are furnished with Holmes' possessions, just as described by Conan Doyle. On the second floor is Dr. Watson's bedroom, complete with his notes and personal items. The third floor exhibit rooms hold wax models of scenes portrayed in the stories, including full-size models of Sherlock Holmes and his archenemy Professor Moriarty.

The museum is not large and the whole tour usually takes about 45-60 minutes.

How to get there:

  • By tube: The nearest stop is Baker Street, a two-minute walk from the museum. The Marylebone Street Station is a five-minute walk from the museum.
  • By train: The Marylebone Railway Station is a five-minute walk; Paddington Railway Station is about 20 minutes away.
  • By car: There is parking at Marylebone Road NCP (170 Marylebone Road), a three-minute walk; at Park Road NCP (Rossmore Court), a five-minute walk; and at Chiltern St. Masterpark, six minutes from the museum.

Since the museum is up a flight of narrow stairs, it is not suited for people in wheelchairs.

There is a gift shop on the ground floor.

Best Time to Visit

The Sherlock Holmes Museum is open every day except Christmas Day, 9:30 a.m.-6:00 p.m. Admission is £6 for adults, £4 for children under age 16. Entrance is free with a London Pass discount card.

To avoid waiting in line, you may purchase a ticket over the Internet, through the museum's official site.

Related Sites
  • Sherlock Holmes Museum, official website
  • A London Guide
  • LondonTown.com
  • The One Act Virtual Museum
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    Wikipedia: Sherlock Holmes Museum
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    Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
    Sherlock Holmes Museum

    The exterior of the Sherlock Holmes Museum and doorway marked as 221B
    Established 1990
    Location 221b Baker Street, London NW1, England, United Kingdom
    Director Jennifer Riley
    Public transit access Baker Street Bakerloo roundel1.PNG Circle roundel1.PNG H&c roundel.PNG Jubilee roundel1.PNG Metropolitan roundel1.PNG
    Marylebone Bakerloo roundel1.PNG 25 railtransportation.svg
    Website http://www.sherlock-holmes.co.uk

    The Sherlock Holmes Museum is a popular privately-run museum in London, England, dedicated to the legendary detective Sherlock Holmes. It opened in 1990 and is situated in Baker Street, bearing the number 221b by permission of the City of Westminster[1], although it lies between numbers 237 and 241, near the north end of Baker Street in central London close to Regent's Park.[2][3]

    The Georgian town house which the museum occupies as "221b Baker Street" was formerly used as a boarding house from 1860 to 1936, and covers the period of 1881 to 1904 when Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson were reported to have resided there as tenants of Mrs Hudson. The museum is run by the Sherlock Holmes International Society, a non-profit making organisation.

    Contents

    Numbering dispute

    Further information: 221B Baker Street
    Sitting room on 1st floor of the museum

    The address 221B was the subject of a protracted dispute between the museum and the nearby Abbey National building. Since the 1930s, the Royal Mail had been delivering mail addressed to Sherlock Holmes to the Abbey National Bank, and they had employed a special secretary to deal with such correspondence. The museum went through several appeals for such mail to be delivered to it, on the grounds that it was the most appropriate organisation to respond to the mail, rather than the bank whose primary business was to lend money out on interest. Although these initiatives were all unsuccessful, the issue was finally resolved in 2002 when the Abbey National vacated its headquarters after seventy years, and the mail is currently delivered to the museum.

    Family objections

    Dame Jean Conan Doyle made clear her lack of approval for the museum when she was asked about it. She was very much against the idea of suggesting that her father's creation was a real person and knew that the presence of the museum would reinforce the idea in the minds of many that Holmes had really existed.[4] This idea was strengthened further by the presence of a commemorative blue plaque on the outside that states the years of Holmes's supposed residency. The plaque is similar in design to those erected by English Heritage but it is not one of theirs as they only erect plaques to people who have really lived.

    The Museum did offer Dame Jean the opportunity to create a room in the museum dedicated to her father, but this offer was refused, and since then the last remaining possessions of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle have been sold off at auction.

    References

    1. ^ The Sherlock Holmes Museum - On This Very Spot
    2. ^ Thomas Bruce Wheeler (2003). Finding Sherlock's London: Travel Guide to Over 200 Sites in London. iUniverse. ISBN 0595281141. 
    3. ^ "Sherlock Holmes 101". Washington Post. January 11, 2004. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2004/01/11/AR2005041501841.html. 
    4. ^ Duncan, Alistair (2009). Close to Holmes: A Look at the Connections Between Historical London, Sherlock Holmes and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. London: MX Publishing. ISBN 1904312500.

    External links

    Coordinates: 51°31′25″N 0°09′31″W / 51.5237°N 0.1585°W / 51.5237; -0.1585


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