Sherlock Holmes Museum
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The Sherlock Holmes Museum is a privately run museum in London, England, dedicated to the famous fictional detective
Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...
. It is the world's first museum dedicated to the literary character Sherlock Holmes. It opened in 1990 and is situated on
Baker Street Baker Street is a street in the Marylebone district of the City of Westminster in London. It is named after builder James Baker. The area was originally high class residential, but now is mainly occupied by commercial premises. The street is ...
, bearing the number 221B by permission of the
City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a London borough with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in Greater London, England. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It contains a large par ...
, although it lies between numbers 237 and 241, near the north end of Baker Street in central London close to
Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the London Borough of Camden, Borough of Camden (and historical ...
. The Georgian town house which the museum occupies as "221B Baker Street" was built in 1815. It was formerly used as a
boarding house A boarding house is a house (frequently a family home) in which lodging, lodgers renting, rent one or more rooms on a nightly basis and sometimes for extended periods of weeks, months, or years. The common parts of the house are maintained, and ...
from 1860 to 1936. It covers the period of 1881 to 1904 when the stories describe Sherlock Holmes and
Doctor Watson Dr. John H. Watson is a fictional character in the Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Along with Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson first appeared in the novel ''A Study in Scarlet'' (1887). "The Adventure of Shosc ...
residing there as tenants of Mrs Hudson. The house is part of the terrace of 237-241 Baker Street which is listed Grade II on the
National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, ...
. The museum features exhibits items from several different adaptations of Sherlock Holmes, and recreations of scenes from the 1984
Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV (TV network), ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire on weekdays only, as ABC Weekend TV, ...
series ''
Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...
''.


Numbering dispute

The address 221B was the subject of a protracted dispute between the museum and the nearby
Abbey National The Abbey National Building Society was formed in 1944 by the merger of the Abbey Road and the National building societies. It was the first building society in the United Kingdom to Demutualisation, demutualise, doing so in July 1989. The ba ...
building. Since the 1930s, the
Royal Mail Royal Mail Group Limited, trading as Royal Mail, is a British postal service and courier company. It is owned by International Distribution Services. It operates the brands Royal Mail (letters and parcels) and Parcelforce Worldwide (parcels) ...
had been delivering mail addressed to
Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...
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

Jean Conan Doyle made clear her lack of enthusiasm 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. This idea was strengthened further by the presence of a commemorative
blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving a ...
on the outside that states the years of Holmes's supposed residency. However, Dame Jean Conan Doyle lent her support to the Sherlock Holmes Museum in Switzerland by attending its opening in 1991. Dame Jean was offered the opportunity to create a room in the London 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. File:Sherlock Holmes Museum 001.jpg, "Sitting Room" File:Sherlock Holmes Museum 003.jpg, The table set in "Sherlock Holmes's Room" File:Sherlock Holmes Museum Study 1.jpg, Sherlock's laboratory File:Sherlock Holmes Museum 004.jpg, "Holmes' Bedroom" File:Typewriter in Sherlock Holmes Museum.jpg, The typewriter at the end time of the 19th century File:Sherlock Holmes Museum 007.jpg, "Dr. Watson's Room", books File:Sherlock Holmes Museum 011.jpg, Bathroom File:Sherlock Holmes Museum 002.jpg, Sherlock Holmes Museum, Baker Street, "The Study" File:Sherlock Holmes Museum 009.jpg, Cyclist sculpture, put on display to illustrate the short story ''The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist'' File:Sherlock Holmes Museum 008.jpg, "Mrs Hudson's Room", fireplace File:Sherlock Holmes Museum 006.jpg, "Dr. Watson's Room", washstand


References


External links

* {{Authority control Sherlock Holmes Houses completed in 1815 1990 establishments in England Holmes, Sherlock Literary museums in London Museums established in 1990 Museums in the City of Westminster Baker Street Georgian architecture in the City of Westminster