The Sherlock Holmes

The Sherlock Holmes is a Victorian-themed public house on Northumberland Street in central London, close to Charing Cross railway station and Trafalgar Square. It combines a conventional pub and restaurant business with a permanent exhibition devoted to Sherlock Holmes, Dr John Watson, and the late-Victorian world represented in Arthur Conan Doyle's stories. The venue is operated within the Greene King pub estate and is positioned as a destination for visitors interested in literary history, London, and themed hospitality. The building has an earlier history connected with the Northumberland Arms and, for a short period in the 1880s, the Northumberland Hotel. The Northumberland Arms is mentioned in Doyle's 1892 story "The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor." Nearby Northumberland Avenue was also associated with the Turkish baths described in the Holmes stories, giving the site a particularly strong geographical connection to the fictional detective's London setting. Some Holmes commentators have further proposed a connection between the building and the Northumberland Hotel mentioned in "The Hound of the Baskervilles," although that identification is conjectural rather than established fact. The pub's defining collection originated not in the building itself but in the Festival of Britain in 1951. Marylebone Public Library, supported by Abbey National, organized an exhibition based on Holmes. Abbey National's Baker Street headquarters stood on the site traditionally associated with 221B Baker Street. A group of Holmes enthusiasts, working with the family of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, assembled objects and recreated Holmes's sitting room. The display included items such as a Persian slipper used as a tobacco container, a gasogene associated with Watson, and a knife for holding Holmes's unanswered correspondence. The Baker Street presentation also used theatrical details, including crumpets marked with apparent bite impressions, to make the fictional room feel inhabited. After the exhibition toured internationally, including a presentation at New York's Plaza Galleries, Whitbread & Co. acquired the complete display. The former Northumberland Arms was refurbished in a late-Victorian style and reopened under the name The Sherlock Holmes in December 1957. This gave the collection a permanent home in central London and linked the pub's commercial identity to one of the world's best-known detective characters. The principal exhibit is a detailed recreation of part of Holmes's fictional apartment. It is displayed upstairs behind glass and can be viewed from parts of the restaurant, roof garden, and upper-floor circulation areas. Additional displays occupy the bar areas. They have included theatrical posters, a revolver associated with Dr Watson, political cartoons, and a mounted representation of the Hound of the Baskervilles. Over time, photographs of actors who have portrayed Holmes and Watson have expanded the collection beyond the original Doyle-era setting, connecting the pub to the character's stage, film, and television legacy. The exhibits are curated and maintained by the Sherlock Holmes Society of London. The combination of food, drink, architectural atmosphere, and literary memorabilia makes The Sherlock Holmes a themed hospitality venue rather than merely a conventional pub named after a fictional character.

The site now occupied by The Sherlock Holmes has a history as a central London hotel and public house. It was known briefly as the Northumberland Hotel during the 1880s and later operated as the Northumberland Arms. The latter name appears in Arthur Conan Doyle's 1892 story "The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor," providing an early literary association between the location and the Holmes canon. The surrounding area also contains historical references that resonate with the stories: the Turkish baths used by Holmes and Watson in Doyle's fiction were described as being next to the hotel at 25 Northumberland Avenue, and an entrance to the former women's baths remains visible in Craven Passage. The venue's modern identity began with the Festival of Britain exhibition of 1951. Marylebone Public Library, aided by Abbey National, created a Holmes display in Abbey House on Baker Street, on the site traditionally linked to 221B Baker Street. Holmes enthusiasts, supported by members of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's family, assembled donated and collected objects and created a detailed recreation of Holmes's sitting room. The exhibit was designed as an immersive interpretation rather than a simple collection of books or portraits. Among its props were a Persian slipper for Holmes's tobacco, a gasogene associated with Dr Watson, and a knife used to hold unanswered letters. Even the refreshments were staged: crumpets were supplied and marked with different bite patterns to suggest that Holmes and Watson had recently been using the room. Following the Festival of Britain, the exhibition toured abroad and was shown at the Plaza Galleries in New York. Whitbread & Co. subsequently purchased the complete display and selected the Northumberland Arms as its permanent home. The building was refurbished in a late-Victorian style, and the pub reopened under the name The Sherlock Holmes in December 1957. Its location near Charing Cross and Trafalgar Square made it suitable both as a working London pub and as a visitor attraction connected to the international popularity of Holmes. The principal exhibit was installed on the upper floor as a detailed replica of part of Holmes's fictional apartment. A plate-glass wall allows visitors to see the reconstruction from the roof garden and from the first-floor Sherlock Holmes restaurant, while smaller windows provide views from the upper hallway. Other rooms and bar areas display theatrical posters, a revolver associated with Watson, political cartoons, and a mounted head representing the Hound of the Baskervilles. The collection was later supplemented with photographs of performers who have played Holmes and Watson across different media. The Sherlock Holmes is now part of the Greene King pub estate. The Sherlock Holmes Society of London curates and maintains the displays, preserving the venue's role as both a hospitality business and a Holmes-related cultural attraction. Its identity rests on the intersection of three elements: a real central London building with Northumberland-area associations, the literary geography of Doyle's stories, and a physical exhibition whose origins can be traced to the 1951 Festival of Britain.

• 1957

  Pub reopens as The Sherlock Holmes

  [1]The Sherlock Holmesen.wikipedia.org

  Whitbread & Co. acquired the exhibition, refurbished the former Northumberland Arms in a late-Victorian style, and reopened it under its present name in December.

• 1951

  Festival of Britain Holmes exhibition created

  [1]The Sherlock Holmesen.wikipedia.org

  Marylebone Public Library and Abbey National supported an exhibition recreating Sherlock Holmes's rooms and presenting related memorabilia in Baker Street.

• 1951

  Exhibition tours internationally

  [1]The Sherlock Holmesen.wikipedia.org

  After the Festival of Britain, the collection toured internationally, including a showing at New York's Plaza Galleries.

• 1892

  Northumberland Arms appears in the Holmes canon

  [1]The Sherlock Holmesen.wikipedia.org

  The building's earlier identity as the Northumberland Arms is referenced in Arthur Conan Doyle's story "The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor."

• Collection placed under specialist curation

  [1]The Sherlock Holmesen.wikipedia.org

  The Sherlock Holmes Society of London became responsible for curating and maintaining the venue's Holmes-related exhibits.

A central London themed pub and restaurant offering traditional hospitality alongside an extensive Sherlock Holmes exhibition and a setting designed to evoke Victorian London.

• Hospitality

  Pub and restaurant service

  The venue operates as a central London public house with restaurant facilities, serving the food and drinks associated with a traditional British pub while presenting the experience in a Victorian-themed setting. Specific current menu items are not established by the supplied sources.

• Cultural attraction · 1957

  Sherlock Holmes exhibition

  The venue's signature offering is a permanent collection of Sherlock Holmes memorabilia. Its central display recreates part of Holmes's fictional apartment, while the bars contain props, posters, cartoons, images of performers, and a representation of the Hound of the Baskervilles.

1. 1The Sherlock Holmesen.wikipedia.org
2. 2The Sherlock Holmes - Greene Kinggreeneking.co.uk