• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
    • First Time Here?
    • Archive
    • London Blogs
  • Blog
  • Travel
    • London Theater Tickets
    • Shopping
    • Tips
    • Tours
    • Transport
    • Maps
    • Parks
    • Resources
    • Restaurants
    • Top 10 London
  • Culture
    • Art
    • Buildings
    • Food
    • London Books
    • Movies
    • Museums
    • Music
    • Pubs
  • Londonism
    • Reviews
    • Fun London
    • Iconic London
    • Life in London
    • London Realities
    • Moving to London
    • Politics
  • The Tube
  • London History
    • Great London Buildings
    • Great Londoners
  • Contact
  • Guidebooks
    • 101 London Travel Tips – Guidebook
    • 101 Free Things to do in London

Londontopia

The Website for People Who Love London

You are here: Home / Culture / Elementary My Dear Watson: Exploring Sherlock Holmes’ London

Elementary My Dear Watson: Exploring Sherlock Holmes’ London

May 25, 2015 By John Rabon

23548-640x360-sherlockholmes_museum_640

The world’s most famous fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes was created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and first appeared in the story, “A Study in Scarlet” in the 1887 edition of Beeton’s Christmas Annual. Despite Holmes’ first appearing in print that year, it wasn’t until 1891 that Doyle moved to London to set up an eye treatment practice at 2 Upper Wimpole Street. By that point, Doyle began publishing his Holmes stories in The Strand and their popularity took off. In the ensuing decades, many fan groups have formed such as the Sherlock Holmes Society and the Baker Street Irregulars, and Holmes has seen adaptations on radio, film, and television.

From the very beginning, London has played a large role in Holmes and Watson’s adventures. The most famous location of all is 221B Baker Street. During Doyle’s time, though, Baker Street only went up to the 100s. The numbers were reallocated in the 1930s and Baker Street was extended. The Abbey National building was assigned numbers 215 to 229 and for years received mail addressed to Holmes. Between 237 and 241 Baker Street, one can find the Sherlock Holmes Museum, which also bills its address as 221B Baker Street and was locked in a struggle with Abbey over the address until the Abbey National vacated its building in 2002. In addition to a large amount of Holmes memorabilia and a shop, the rooms in the townhouse are recreated to look as they were described in Doyle’s stories.

Piccadilly Circus is another significant location for Holmes, featuring a couple locations important in the novels. The Criterion Restaurant at 224 Piccadilly is where Watson first learned of Holmes in “A Study in Scarlet.” The Café Royal, a French Restaurant, was also located at Piccadilly Circus and the location of an attack on Holmes in the story “The Illustrious Client”. Moving further past Piccadilly to Pall Mall are the locations of several posh clubs and likely where Mycroft Holmes’s Diogenes Club would have been located.

A few hotels hold significant roles in Holmes, as the Charing Cross hotel is where Holmes captured a spy in “The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans” and is located near the Sherlock Holmes Pub. The Langham Hotel on Regent Street is a major location of The Sign of Four as well as “A Scandal in Bohemia”. These locations and more can be visited at your leisure or through one of the many walking tours dedicated to Holmes in the city.

Additionally, many of the filming locations for Sherlock Holmes adaptations can be visited by keen Holmesians. In both the books and the BBC programme Sherlock, Holmes and Watson first meet at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital at West Smithfield. Sherlock’s 221B Baker Street can actually be found at 187 Gower Street and the Speedy’s Sandwich Bar can be seen in the shot of many episodes. Bristol South Swimming Pool marks the place where Cumberbatch’s Sherlock first encounters Jim Moriarty (Andrew Scott). Additionally, several famous London landmarks appear in the programme such as Buckingham Palace, the Old Bailey, Trafalgar Square, the Tower of London, and New Scotland Yard.

While set in the Victorian era as Doyle’s stories were, Guy Ritchie’s two films, Sherlock Holmes and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows feature London heavily. The Freemason’s Hall in London is the setting for Lord Blackwood’s power play, most notably in the building’s Third Vestibule at 60 Great Queen Street. The cemetery where he seemingly rises from the dead is actually Brompton Cemetery on Old Brompton Road. The crypt where Blackwood attempts his human sacrifice isn’t St. Paul’s, but actually St. Bartholomew’s in the knave of the cathedral. Meanwhile, the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich doubles as the exterior street scenes for Baker Street.

In “A Game of Shadows”, the exterior of the auction house is also the Old Royal Naval College, but the interior is that of Australia House in the Strand (also the interior of Gringotts in the Harry Potter films). The theatre where Sherlock (Robert Downey Jr.) and Watson (Jude Law) meet Mycroft (Stephen Fry) is Wilton’s Music Hall at 1 Grace’s Alley in the West End. The Anarchists running a printing press are doing so in the unlikeliest of places in real life, the Undercroft beneath Lincoln’s Inn, one of the four Inns of Court where aspiring lawyers are admitted to practise law.

Of course, with so many adaptations from Basil Rathbone to Benedict Cumberbatch, these filming locations are only the tip of the iceberg for Sherlock’s London. Many websites and walking tours can help you find some of your favourite scenes. If you have a favourite locale or adaptation, feel free to let us know in the comments.

John Rabon
Author: John Rabon

John is a regular writer for Anglotopia and its sister websites. He is currently engaged in finding a way to move books slightly to the left without the embarrassment of being walked in on by Eddie Izzard. For any comments, questions, or complaints, please contact the Lord Mayor of London, Boris Johnson's haircut.

close

Free London News

Get the latest news on London history, culture, travel, exhibitions, and more right in your inbox!

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

Share this:

  • Print
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Reddit
  • Pocket

Filed Under: Culture, Featured, Guides, London Books, Travel

Subscribe to Our Free London Updates

Free London News

Get the latest news on London history, culture, travel, exhibitions, and more right in your inbox!

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

About John Rabon

John is a regular writer for Anglotopia and its sister websites. He is currently engaged in finding a way to move books slightly to the left without the embarrassment of being walked in on by Eddie Izzard. For any comments, questions, or complaints, please contact the Lord Mayor of London, Boris Johnson's haircut.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. William Sturdevant says

    May 25, 2015 at 10:07 am

    Disappointed you completely overlooked Jeremy Brett and his brilliant interpretation of Victorian Holmes!

    • John says

      May 26, 2015 at 11:38 am

      Apologies, I focused on more recent interpretations for the sake of brevity, but my first exposure to Holmes and Watson on screen was Jeremy Brett and Edward Hardwicke. Those stories are still the best straight adaptations of Doyle’s works.

    • California Carol says

      May 28, 2015 at 7:04 pm

      I am 74 and my first experience of Holmes goes back to Basil Rathbone. Over my many years and many potrayals of Holmes, to me Jeremy Brett is the ultimate Holmes. As much as I like Benedict Cumberbatch I’ve never been able to get into that version of Holmes and Watson.

  2. Elizabeth West says

    May 26, 2015 at 4:32 pm

    I found 187 Gower Street by accident–it’s right up the road from University College, where I went to look at Jeremy Bentham’s auto-icon (his stuffed corpse). 🙂

  3. Matthew says

    May 27, 2015 at 5:01 am

    I’d love to go sauntering around London with deerstalker.

  4. Beth Gray says

    Jan 16, 2017 at 11:02 am

    Do you know where they filmed the pretty street scene in Hampstead where they are leaving Kenny Prince’s house in “The Great Game?”
    “

  5. Frances Martin says

    Jun 14, 2017 at 9:00 am

    Basil Rathbone really was a great and original Holmes. But today the current two Holmes and Watson are just so fun. And it is all so well done.

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe to Our Free London Updates

Free London News

Get the latest news on London history, culture, travel, exhibitions, and more right in your inbox!

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

Get the Anglotopia/Londontopia App

Our Advertisers

If you are a mobile gamer, you may want to take a look at UK’s new mobile casinos and slots reviewed by NewCasinoUK.

Join the London Forum

  • Mudlarking
  • MY FAVOURITE PLACE IN LONDON
  • What's Your Favorite Place in London?
  • Paddington Station

London Guide

  • Ten Cheap Things You Can Do in London on a Budget
  • Ten London Exhibitions to Look Forward to in 2023
  • London’s Non-Free Museums: Your Guide to London’s Museums That Charge Admission
  • Trip Planning: Top 10 Exhibitions To Plan Your 2018 Trips to London Around
  • London Guide: Our Favorite Restaurants in London – London Restaurant Recommendations for Americans – What’s Your Favorite?

Connect With Us

  • Facebook
  • RSS Feed
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Support Londontopia

Search our Extensive Archive

Top 10 London

  • Ten Unusual Exhibits to See in London
  • London Pubs: Ten Thameside Pubs for a Pint and a View
  • Top 10 London: Ten More Things to Do Along the River Thames
  • Top 10 London: Top Ten Shopping Centers in London
  • Museums of London: Ten Overlooked London Museums
  • Top 10 London: Top Ten Things to See and Do in Haggerston
  • Top 10 London: Top Ten Things to See and Do in Haringey
  • Top 10 London: Top Ten Things to See and Do in Redbridge
  • Top 10 London: Top Ten Things to See and Do in Hillingdon
  • Top 10 London: Top Ten Things to Do in Canonbury

Recent Posts

  • V&A set to open first major UK exhibition on Renaissance sculptor Donatello
  • Ten National Trust Properties in London
  • What’s On in London Events for February 2023
  • Only Fools And Horses musical to close in West End after four years
  • Artist Ai Weiwei to launch first design-focused exhibition at London’s Design Museum
  • London Travel Alert: Staff at British Museum to walk out during half-term break
  • Poet Lemn Sissay ‘over the moon’ to receive Freedom of the City of London
  • English Heritage has unveiled six new blue plaques for London
  • National Portrait Gallery to reopen in June with two special exhibitions
  • Exploring The Cosmic House in London

Best Posts on Londontopia

  • 101 London Travel Tips
  • Top 100 London Attractions
  • How to Find the Cheapest Airfares to London
  • 10 Things NOT to do in London
  • Best London Guidebooks
  • 101 Free Things to do in London
  • London Lingo – A London Word Dictionary
  • Top 7 Tips for Doing London on the Cheap
  • Top 11 Myths American Believe about London
  • Guide to Eating in London
  • Best Times of Year to Travel to London
  • London Packing Tips
  • Top 11 Movies Set in London
  • Top Attractions off the Tourist Track
  • Top 5 Most Amazing London Hotels
  • Top 10 Hostels in London
  • Best Views in London Restuarants
  • London Taxi Ettiquette
  • Top 12 London Views
  • Great Fire of London
  • A Guide to Five of London’s Bridges
  • 10 Random Facts and Figures about Trafalgar Square
  • Top 100 British Slang Words

London Places to Explore

Bloomsbury Buckingham Palace Canary Wharf City of London Covent Garden Cutty Sark Greenwich Hampstead Hampton Court Palace Heathrow Houses of Parliament Hyde Park Imperial War Museum Islington Kensington Kensington Palace Leicester Square London London Eye London Transport Museum Museum of London National Gallery Notting Hill Piccadilly Circus Putney Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Regent's Street Royal Academy Selfridges Somerset House Southbank Southwark St Pancras St Paul's Cathedral Tate Britain Tate Modern The City Tower Bridge Tower of London Trafalgar Square V&A Wandsworth West End Westminster Westminster Abbey

SIGN-UP FOR FREE LONDON WEEKLY UPDATES!

Please enter a valid email address
That address is already in use
The security code entered was incorrect
Thanks for signing up

Recent Videos

Walk Around London Virtually Right Now – Watched Walker is the YouTube Channel We All Need Right Now

Jason Hawkes Shares a Beautiful Video of London From Above That We All Need Right now

London Tube: You’ve Got to Watch This Amazing Mesmerizing Animation That Shows the Real Geography of the London Underground

Video: The Basics of Crossrail – London’s New Underground Line

London History: The Place Where Old London Double Decker Buses Went to Die

London Video: A Look at the Great Smog of London

Tube and London bus fares to rise by nearly 6% from March

What is Crossrail 2 and What is Its Current Status?

London Alert: Strike by London Underground workers to go ahead after last-minute talks fail

London Mayor hails Elizabeth line as direct routes and Sunday services begin

Elizabeth line fully opens and offers more direct journeys

Tube poet encourages writers to ‘bring who they are to the field’

Footer

About Londontopia

Londontopia is simply the website for people who love London. It was founded by Jonathan & Jackie Thomas from Anglotopia.net as a place to post articles solely focused on London and its environs. Keep up with all the latest London news at Londontopia! This site is geared towards people who love to visit London and our primary audience is North American but everyone is welcome!

When We’re in London Next

We don’t currently have any travel plans to London but hope to visit at some point in 2021.

  • SEO Backlinks
  • Travel Blog

SIGN-UP FOR FREE LONDON WEEKLY UPDATES!

Please enter a valid email address
That address is already in use
The security code entered was incorrect
Thanks for signing up

Copyright © 2023 Anglotopia, LLC · Website Developed by Anglotopia, LLC · Log in