Great Scotland Yard is a street in the

St. James's St James's is a central district in the City of Westminster, London, forming part of the West End. In the 17th century the area developed as a residential location for the British aristocracy, and around the 19th century was the focus of the de ...

district of

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

, London, connecting Northumberland Avenue and

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea. It is the main thoroughfare running south from Trafalgar Square towards Parliament Sq ...

. By the 16th century, this 'yard', which was then an open space for the

Palace of Whitehall The Palace of Whitehall (also spelt White Hall) at Westminster was the main residence of the English monarchs from 1530 until 1698, when most of its structures, except notably Inigo Jones's Banqueting House of 1622, were destroyed by fire. ...

, was fronted by buildings used by diplomatic representatives of the

Kingdom of Scotland The Kingdom of Scotland (; , ) was a sovereign state in northwest Europe traditionally said to have been founded in 843. Its territories expanded and shrank, but it came to occupy the northern third of the island of Great Britain, sharing a l ...

. In the 19th century, it was a street and open space, which was the location of a public entrance to the original headquarters of the

Metropolitan Police Service The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...

of London, causing the name "

Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the square mile that forms London's ...

" to become synonymous with the police service.

History

Street sign, Great Scotland Yard SW1 - geograph

Although the

etymology Etymology () The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the form of words ...

is not certain, according to a 1964 article in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', the name derives from buildings that accommodated the diplomatic representatives of the

and Scottish kings when they visited English royalty – in effect, the Scottish

Embassy A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually den ...

, although the institute was not formalized. It was certainly built and in effect by 1515, as Henry VIII's sister,

Margaret Tudor Margaret Tudor (28 November 1489 – 18 October 1541) was Queen of Scotland from 1503 until 1513 by marriage to King James IV. She then served as regent of Scotland during her son's minority, and successfully fought to extend her regency. Ma ...

, was lodged there while fleeing from Scotland. By the 17th century, the street housed government buildings and residences for civil servants. The architects

Inigo Jones Inigo Jones (; 15 July 1573 – 21 June 1652) was the first significant architect in England and Wales in the early modern period, and the first to employ Vitruvian rules of proportion and symmetry in his buildings. As the most notable archit ...

and

Christopher Wren Sir Christopher Wren PRS FRS (; – ) was one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history, as well as an anatomist, astronomer, geometer, and mathematician-physicist. He was accorded responsibility for rebuilding 52 church ...

lived there as did the poet

John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet and intellectual. His 1667 epic poem ''Paradise Lost'', written in blank verse and including over ten chapters, was written in a time of immense religious flux and politica ...

from 1649 to 1651, during the

Commonwealth of England The Commonwealth was the political structure during the period from 1649 to 1660 when England and Wales, later along with Ireland and Scotland, were governed as a republic after the end of the Second English Civil War and the trial and execu ...

under the rule of

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three ...

. Towards the end of the 17th century, the district was already associated with prominence and prestige; for example in the 1690s in his satirical '' A Tale of a Tub'',

Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish satirist, author, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whigs, then for the Tories), poet, and Anglican cleric who became Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Du ...

claimed the regard of "my worthy brethren and friends at Will’s Coffee-house, and Gresham College, and Warwick Lane, and

Moorfields Moorfields was an open space, partly in the City of London, lying adjacent to – and outside – its northern wall, near the eponymous Moorgate. It was known for its marshy conditions, the result of the defensive wall acting like a dam, ...

, and Scotland Yard, and

Westminster Hall The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parli ...

, and

Guildhall A guildhall, also known as a "guild hall" or "guild house", is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commonly become town halls and in some ...

; in short, to all inhabitants and retainers whatsoever, either in court, or church, or camp, or city, or country...". The Clarence pub SW1 London

According to the

, the original Metropolitan Police Commissioner's office at 4 Whitehall Place, had a rear entrance on Great Scotland Yard. An 1862 map of Westminster shows the location. Over time,

was used generally as a

metonym Metonymy () is a figure of speech in which a concept is referred to by the name of something closely associated with that thing or concept. Etymology The words ''metonymy'' and ''metonym'' come from grc, μετωνυμία, 'a change of name' ...

for the police headquarters. Waiter at Clarence Pub, London

Richard Horwood's 1799 map of London shows Great Scotland Yard on the eastern side

, opposite The Admiralty. Below it are two streets that are

culs-de-sac A dead end, also known as a cul-de-sac (, from French for 'bag-bottom'), no through road or no exit road, is a street with only one inlet or outlet. The term "dead end" is understood in all varieties of English, but the official terminology ...

: Middle Scotland Yard, where Whitehall Place is today, and Lower Scotland Yard, entered from Middle Scotland Yard. Lower Scotland Yard was where the War Office building was erected in 1906, but was, according to the 1862 map, renamed Middle Scotland Yard when Whitehall Place, originally a cul-de-sac, took the place of the original Middle Scotland Yard. The Clarence public house, named after the

Duke of Clarence Duke of Clarence is a substantive title which has been traditionally awarded to junior members of the British Royal Family. All three creations were in the Peerage of England. The title was first granted to Lionel of Antwerp, the second son ...

, dates from 1896. It was originally attached to the opposite corner of Great Scotland Yard by an archway. The archway was removed during the 1908 redevelopment of Great Scotland Yard, and the end of the building was refaced with slightly different coloured bricks. Since 1953, The Civil Service Club has been based in the Old Fire House at numbers 13–15, and is a

social club A social club may be a group of people or the place where they meet, generally formed around a common interest, occupation, or activity. Examples include: book discussion clubs, chess clubs, anime clubs, country clubs, charity work, criminal ...

for current and former members of the

Civil Service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

Great Scotland Yard Hotel

3–5 Great Scotland Yard is now a five-star Hyatt luxury hotel located on Great Scotland Yard Road in Westminster. It has a very long history as it sits on the previous site of the Ministry of Defence Library, but was built in 1906 as the Central London Recruiting Office. The current building has never had any connection with the Metropolitan Police. The hotel has 152 rooms with 15 suites and a stand-alone townhouse located at 1 Great Scotland Yard. The Edwardian townhouse has its own private entrance and has two bedrooms across five floors. The hotel also contains four bars and restaurants and a gym. The history of the building is split between the back and the front of the hotel.

The back of the hotel

997–1541

It is said that the Kings of Scotland had part of Whitehall Palace there for their use when they visited London, and this is said to be the origin of the street name "Great Scotland Yard" In approximately 997–1105, the property was first given to Kenneth III, King of Scotland as his residence. The last of the Scottish royal family who resided here was Margaret, Queen of Scots, wife of James IV of Scotland and sister to

King Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

. She resided here after the death of her husband at the Battle of Flodden.

1541–1910

After 1541, it was used as the homes of prominent civil servants due to its proximity to

Whitehall Palace The Palace of Whitehall (also spelt White Hall) at Westminster was the main residence of the English monarchs from 1530 until 1698, when most of its structures, except notably Inigo Jones's Banqueting House of 1622, were destroyed by fire. H ...

. These included

, who designed Covent Garden, Lincoln Inn Fields and Banqueting House, and

who designed St Paul's Cathedral and many London churches. The English poet

, who wrote ''

Paradise Lost ''Paradise Lost'' is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The first version, published in 1667, consists of ten books with over ten thousand lines of verse. A second edition followed in 16 ...

'', lived on-site from 1649 to 1651. This house was originally named the Marshalsea Court House. There were also numerous private residences until 1910. On the right-hand side of the Marshalsea Court House were Royal Stables constructed before 1812 (exact date unknown). They were the stables for the Admiralty and then was used by the police from 1837 onwards. The police also expanded into the Marshalsea Court House from 1847. The current building as we know it was constructed in 1910.

The front of the hotel

Pre-1812

Not much is known about this space. It is likely that it was an empty courtyard until 1812, where a coach house and reservoir were built to house the king's horses and stewards.

1812–1874

Not much changed between these years and the building continued to be used as the Royal Stables. Then, in 1873 the

Metropolitan Police The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...

brought the stables from the

Waterloo and Whitehall Railway The Waterloo and Whitehall Railway was a proposed and partly constructed 19th century Rammell pneumatic railway in central London intended to run under the River Thames just upstream from Hungerford Bridge, running from Waterloo station to th ...

company and built the ‘Hackney Carriage & Detective Department’ in 1874. The building was the first dedicated space for the detective department and was where all the high-profile cases were processed and high-profile prisoners were held. The striking and individual architecture of Great Scotland Yard is recognisable and iconic to many worldwide. Its Edwardian red brick, Portland stone and the famous green doors were all part of the 1874 design. The green doors have borne witness to many historic events and characters and have become a symbol and shorthand for Great Scotland Yard as part of the city of London's rich heritage.

1874–1910

On 30 May 1884, the

Fenian The word ''Fenian'' () served as an umbrella term for the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) and their affiliate in the United States, the Fenian Brotherhood, secret political organisations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries dedicate ...

s exploded a bomb at the location, which blew a hole in the wall of Scotland Yard, and damaged the Rising Sun public house. People came to inspect the damage, and the proprietor charged 3 d () a head for spectators, and his premises thereby gained unsought attention. Later that year, the Metropolitan Police repaired the building and converted it to accommodate living quarters for the Police Commissioner and his top deputies on the first floor. The façade as we know it was refurbished in 1910, along with the sides of the hotel, creating the building as we know it now.

History of the whole building, 1910–2013

The current Edwardian building was completed in 1910 and served as the British Army Recruitment Office for World War I and World War 2. It was used by the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...

until 2013, first as a recruitment office and then as a library until 2004. In 2013, the lease of the building was purchased by the

LuLu Group LuLu Group International is an Indian Emirati-based multinational conglomerate company that operates a chain of hypermarkets and retail companies, headquartered in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It was founded in 2000 by M. A. Yusuff Ali from ...

for £110 million.

Filming location

A World War II scene in the motion picture ''

Atonement Atonement (also atoning, to atone) is the concept of a person taking action to correct previous wrongdoing on their part, either through direct action to undo the consequences of that act, equivalent action to do good for others, or some other ...

'' (2007) with

Keira Knightley Keira Christina Righton (; née Knightley, born 26 March 1985) is an English actress. Known for her work in both independent films and blockbusters, particularly period dramas, she has received several accolades, including nominations for ...

and

James McAvoy James McAvoy (; born 21 April 1979) is a Scottish actor. He made his acting debut as a teen in '' The Near Room'' (1995) and appeared mostly on television until 2003, when his feature film career began. His notable television work includes ...

was filmed in this road, as was a scene from '' Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1'' (2010). The road was also used as part of the car chase scene from the James Bond film ''

Skyfall ''Skyfall'' is a 2012 spy film and the twenty-third in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions. The film is the third to star Daniel Craig as fictional MI6 agent James Bond and features Javier Bardem as Raoul Silva, the vill ...

'' (2012).. It was also used for the opening scene of the

Marvel Studios Marvel Studios, LLC (originally known as Marvel Films from 1993 to 1996) is an American film and television production company that is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, a division of the Walt Disney Company. Marvel Studios produces the Ma ...

film ''

Doctor Strange Doctor Stephen Strange is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #110 (cover-dated July 1963). Doctor Strange serves as Sorce ...

'' in 2016.

References

External links

{{commons category
The Story of 13–15 Great Scotland Yard
Streets in the City of Westminster