But does this address still exist or which address was it based upon? 221B Baker Street is the fictional London residence of the detective Sherlock Holmes, created by author Arthur Conan Doyle.The address could indicate an upstairs apartment of a residential house on what was originally a Georgian terrace. She was invited to renumber the museum’s building to coincide with its official opening (and because the number 221B had not been included in the original planning consent for the museum granted in October 1989). According to the published stories, “221B Baker Street” was a suite of rooms on the first floor of a lodging house above a flight of 17 steps. The description of the house can be found throughout the stories, including the 17 steps leading from the ground-floor hallway to the first-floor study. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Such was the power of the stories and the fame of the detective and his sleuthing abilities, fans would frequently write to Sherlock Holmes. The Sherlock Holmes Museum is situated within an 1815 townhouse very similar to the 221B described in the stories and is located between 237 and 241 Baker Street. The number 221b indicates that it was a flat or apartment above number 221. The number 221b suggests that it was a flat linked to 221 and it is likely that Holmes' apartment would have been part of a Georgian terrace like much of Baker Street at the time. The Essex Record Office 'ERO' are custodians of the parish registers of Essex. After I left, I checked the souvenir store and saw this 20 pound teddy bear that was so cute that I had to buy, even it’s expensive. How fitting that Sherlock should have an address with a convoluted story of its own! A long-running dispute over the number arose between the Sherlock Holmes Museum, the building society Abbey National (which had previously answered the mail addressed to Sherlock Holmes) and subsequently the local Westminster City Council. The present 221b Baker Street, now the site of the Sherlock Holmes Museum, is a special address recognised by the Post Office. An Ordnance Survey Map of the area alongside a present day map can be seen on the National Library of Scotland mapping website. And the ‘real’ 221b? Link below already formatted for Essex and Postcards. This is how 221b Baker Street is first introduced when, in A Study in Scarlet, Sherlock Holmes and John Watson rent the flat from landlady, Mrs Hudson.

It is fictitious. In the late 19th century, Baker Street was a high-class residential district - but 221b did not exist. Holmes and Watson walked through the streets of London to a property where Holmes asked. Fans and aficionados of the Sherlock Holmes stories have debated this for many years and proposed many suggestions based upon descriptions and clues in the books. Change ), Type your email adress to follow this blog and receive email notifications. Number 221 did not exist at the time the books were written, and the street was known as Upper Baker Street. But 221B Baker street did not exist in 1881, nor did it exist in 1887 when A Study in Scarlet was published and Baker Street house numbers only extended into the 100s. When street numbers were reallocated in the 1930s, the block of odd numbers from 215 to 229 was assigned to an Art Deco building known as Abbey House, constructed in 1932 for the Abbey Road Building Society, which the society and its successor (which subsequently became Abbey National plc) occupied until 2002. In the late 19th century, Baker Street was a high-class residential district - but 221b did not exist. According to the published stories, “221B Baker Street” was a suite of rooms on the first floor of a lodging house above a flight of 17 steps. The financial institution embraced the consequence of sharing an address with Holmes and employed someone whose job it was to reply to the post – essentially working as personal assistant to a fictional character. I was not able to come in, and ,honestly, I don’t think there’s anything inside, but it’s a very special detail to see it there. ( Log Out /  The very first thing I did was to take a photo at the entrance with the signature hat!