Baker Street is a street in the

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropolitan borough, it me ...

district of the

City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and London boroughs, borough in Inner London. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It occupies a large area of cent ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. It is named after builder William Baker, who laid out the street in the 18th century. The street is most famous for its connection to the fictional detective

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

, who lived at a fictional 221B Baker Street address on the north of the street. The area was originally high class residential, but now is mainly occupied by commercial premises.

Location

Baker Street is a busy thoroughfare, lying in postcode areas NW1/W1 and forming part of the A41. It used to run south from

Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies of high ground in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the Borough of Camden (and historically betwee ...

, the junction with Park Road, parallel to Gloucester Place, meeting Marylebone Road,

Portman Square Portman Square is a garden square in Marylebone, central London, surrounded by elegant townhouses. It was specifically for private housing let on long leases having a ground rent by the Portman Estate, which owns the private communal garden ...

and

Wigmore Street Wigmore Street is a street in the City of Westminster, in the West End of London. The street runs for about 600 yards parallel and to the north of Oxford Street between Portman Square to the west and Cavendish Square to the east. It is named aft ...

. In 2019, the until-then one-way street was changed to accommodate lanes running in both directions. At the junction with Wigmore Street, Baker Street turns into Orchard Street, which ends when it meets with

Oxford Street Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch via Oxford Circus. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, with around half a million daily visitors, and ...

. After

the road continues as Orchard Street. The crossroads of Baker Street and Marylebone Road was historically known as ''Marylebone Circus'', which is still its unofficial name.

History

Baker Street area Ordnance Survey map 1875

Baker Street was laid out in the 18th century by the builder William Baker, after whom it is named.

19th century

In 1835, the first

wax museum A wax museum or waxworks usually consists of a collection of wax sculptures representing famous people from history and contemporary personalities exhibited in lifelike poses, wearing real clothes. Some wax museums have a special section dubb ...

of Madame Tussauds was opened on Baker Street. The museum moved, just around the corner, to Marylebone Road in 1884. Also in 1835 the sculptor

James Fillans James Fillans (27 March 1808 – 27 September 1852) was a Scottish sculptor, poet and artist with a short but influential career in the early 19th century. Life He was born in Wilsontown, Lanarkshire. In early life he worked as a handloom w ...

came to live and work from 82 Baker Street. Thomas Charles Druce ran the Baker Street Bazaar (which would become Druce & Co. furniture manufacturers) until his death in 1864, and was later subject of the Druce Portland Case.

20th century

Residents of the prestigious mansion block,

Chiltern Court Chiltern Court, Baker Street, London, is a large block of flats at the street's northern end, facing Regent's Park and Marylebone Road. It was built between 1927 and 1929 above the Baker Street tube station by the Metropolitan Railway. Original ...

on the Regent's Park end of Baker Street include the novelists

Arnold Bennett Enoch Arnold Bennett (27 May 1867 – 27 March 1931) was an English author, best known as a novelist. He wrote prolifically: between the 1890s and the 1930s he completed 34 novels, seven volumes of short stories, 13 plays (some in collaboratio ...

and

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells"Wells, H. G."
Revised 18 May 2015. ''

Special Operations Executive The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a secret British World War II organisation. It was officially formed on 22 July 1940 under Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton, from the amalgamation of three existing secret organisations. Its pu ...

moved to 64 Baker Street, they were often called the "

Baker Street Irregulars The Baker Street Irregulars are fictional characters who appear in three Sherlock Holmes stories, specifically two novels and one short story, by Arthur Conan Doyle. They are street boys who are employed by Holmes as intelligence agents. The na ...

" after Sherlock Holmes' gang of street urchins of the same name.

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

Apple Boutique The Apple Boutique was a retail store located in a building on the corner of Baker Street and Paddington Street, Marylebone, London. It opened on 7 December 1967 and closed on 31 July 1968. The shop was one of the first business ventures by t ...

was based at 94 Baker Street from 1967 to 1968. A significant robbery of a branch of

Lloyds Bank Lloyds Bank plc is a British retail and commercial bank with branches across England and Wales. It has traditionally been considered one of the " Big Four" clearing banks. Lloyds Bank is the largest retail bank in Britain, and has an exte ...

took place on Baker Street in 1971. For many years the head office of

Marks & Spencer Marks and Spencer Group plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks's or Marks & Sparks) is a major British multinational retailer with headquarters in Paddington, London that specialises in selling clothing, beauty, home ...

, formerly the United Kingdom's largest retailer, was at "Michael House" (named in parallel with the group's "St Michael" brand), 55 Baker Street, until the company relocated to the

Paddington Basin Paddington Basin is the name given to a long canal basin, and its surrounding area, in Paddington, London. The basin commences 500 m south of the junction known as Little Venice, of the Regent's Canal and the Paddington Arm of the Grand ...

in 2004. This was one of the best known corporate buildings in the United Kingdom, and has since been redeveloped as a modern office complex by

London & Regional Properties London & Regional Properties (L&R) is a private real estate and leisure investment firm based in London, United Kingdom. It is one of the largest privately held principal investors in Europe, performing private equity style investments in direct ...

to a design by

Make Architects Make Architects is an international architecture practice headquartered in London that also has offices in offices in Hong Kong and Sydney. Founded in 2004 by former Foster + Partners architect Ken Shuttleworth. The practice has a variety of proj ...

and

Expedition Engineering Expedition Engineering is a London-based consulting firm, delivering structural engineering services. History Expedition Engineering was founded in 1999 by Professor Chris Wise (engineer for the Millennium Bridge, London) and Seán Walsh, bo ...

. A

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...

commemorates Prime Minister

William Pitt the Younger William Pitt the Younger (28 May 175923 January 1806) was a British statesman, the youngest and last prime minister of Great Britain (before the Acts of Union 1800) and then first prime minister of the United Kingdom (of Great Britain and Ire ...

who lived at 120 Baker Street from 1803 to 1804. British singer

Dusty Springfield Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), known professionally as Dusty Springfield, was an English singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano sound, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, Pop music, p ...

lived on Baker Street in the 1960s.

21st century

In February 2019, Baker Street was converted from a one-way southbound street to a two-way street.

Buildings

The

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, V ...

maintains a

Consulate A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of diplomatic mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth coun ...

at 111 Baker Street.

Transport

The street is served by the

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...

Baker Street tube station Baker Street is a London Underground station at the junction of Baker Street and the Marylebone Road in the City of Westminster. It is one of the original stations of the Metropolitan Railway (MR), the world's first underground railway, opened ...

, one of the world's oldest surviving

underground Underground most commonly refers to: * Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth Underground may also refer to: Places * The Underground (Boston), a music club in the Allston neighborhood of Boston * The Underground ...

stations. Next door is Transport for London's lost property office.

In popular culture

* In fiction,

Basil of Baker Street ''Basil of Baker Street'' is a series of children's novels written by Eve Titus and illustrated by Paul Galdone. The stories focus on the titular Basil of Baker Street and his personal biographer Doctor David Q. Dawson. Together they solve the ma ...

(''

The Great Mouse Detective ''The Great Mouse Detective'' (also known as ''The Adventures of the Great Mouse Detective'' for its 1992 theatrical re-release and ''Basil the Great Mouse Detective'' in some countries) is a 1986 American animated mystery adventure film produc ...

''),

Sherlock Hound is an anime television series produced by RAI and Tokyo Movie Shinsha. Based on the character Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle, almost all the characters are depicted as anthropomorphic dogs. The show featured regular appearances of ...

, Danger Mouse,

Sexton Blake Sexton Blake is a fictional character, a detective who has been featured in many British comic strips, novels and dramatic productions since 1893. Sexton Blake adventures were featured in a wide variety of British and international publications ...

Carland Cross Carland Cross is a location in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, about six miles (10 kilometres) north of Truro at OS grid reference . At Carland Cross there are a hamlet, a road junction and a large wind farm. The road junction is in the civi ...

and James Black of '' Case Closed'' have all resided along the road. * " Baker Street" is a song by

Gerry Rafferty Gerald Rafferty (16 April 1947– 4 January 2011) was a Scottish singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He was a founding member of Stealers Wheel, whose biggest hit was "Stuck in the Middle with You" in 1973. His solo hits in th ...

, released in 1978. The song was a major worldwide hit, reaching Number 3 in the UK and Number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. * "Baker St. Muse" is a song from Jethro Tull's album ''

Minstrel in the Gallery ''Minstrel in the Gallery'' is the eighth studio album by British rock band Jethro Tull, released in September 1975. The album sees the band going in a different direction from their previous work '' War Child'' (1974), returning to a blend of e ...

'', which was released in 1975. (Baker Street is frequently mentioned in the lyrics of Jethro Tull songs.) * The 2008 film, ''

The Bank Job ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' was based on the 1971 robbery of

in Baker Street.

Gallery

Traditional London Transport signage at Baker Street- at 22.14hrs - panoramio.jpg,

interior London Sherlock Holmes Museum.jpg,

Sherlock Holmes Museum The Sherlock Holmes Museum is a privately run museum in London, England, dedicated to the famous fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. It is the world's first museum dedicated to the literary character Sherlock Holmes. It opened in 1990 and is ...

Beatles Store, Baker Street, London - DSCF0463.JPG, London Beatles Store

References

External links

{{Coord, 51.5200, -0.1566, display=title, region:GB_type:landmark Streets in the City of Westminster Tourist attractions in the City of Westminster