A trip to Misty Albion is something that many today dream of, regardless of age and social background. The history of Great Britain in itself is very interesting, and its culture attracts even modern youth. British literature is striking in its sophistication and sophisticated style, and the expressive means of English, British, Scottish and Welsh classics still captivate readers. Somerset Maugham, John Galsworthy, Herbert Wells, Oscar Wilde, Bernard Shaw - all these names are well known not only to bookworms, but also to people who are not too keen on literature.
The best of the best
One of the most popular British writers is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who created a truly immortal story about London detective Sherlock Holmes and his assistant Dr. Watson. To honor this beautiful work and its many adaptations, as well as to pay tribute to the writer himself, the Sherlock Holmes Museum was opened in the capital of England. London has a huge number of cultural monuments, but this one is undoubtedly one of the most interesting. Perhaps it’s quite difficult to find a person who would not know the address of the protagonist of detective works of the famous Arthur Conan Doyle - the genius detective Sherlock Holmes. One of the streets of the capital of Great Britain, London - Baker Street - has a well-deserved world fame.
221b
By the will of fate, it was in the house at number 221b on Baker Street that the author settled his hero. Until a certain time, the house had a different numbering - No. 239, but since hundreds of thousands of letters addressed to Sherlock came to the address indicated by Doyle in the works, the city authorities were simply forced to assign a literary number to the building. This innovation caused considerable confusion in the established address lists. After that, the owner of the building had no choice but to hire a knowledgeable and competent person whose duties include correspondence with admirers.
Without a guide
Finding the Sherlock Holmes Museum in London is relatively easy. At each intersection there are special stands with large maps indicating where you are now and how best to get to your desired destination.
It’s quite easy to navigate these cards provided that you are at least at the initial level proficient in English and can understand words. The Sherlock Holmes Museum in London is not far from another so-called “museum center”, which consists of three famous museums: the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum. More specifically, the museum building is located in the Westminster area, you can get to the street by going out at the metro station of the same name, where everyone will be welcomed by a symbolic landmark - a silhouette in a hunting hat with a fixed tube. Therefore, to guess where the Sherlock Holmes Museum is, is not difficult. If the traveler has any preconceptions about traveling by subway, you should use the bus routes No. 13, 18, 27, 30, 74, 82, 113, 159, 274.
Museum on Baker Street
According to the literary work, Holmes and Watson rented an apartment on Baker Street in 1881, and until 1904 they lived on this living space. Surprisingly, their creator was not far from the truth, because in this building from 1860 to 1934 furnished apartments were really rented out. The house was erected in Victorian style in 1815, and today it is included in the honorary list of the Queen’s constructions as representing historical and architectural value. A memorial plaque is attached to the facade of the building, the text of which reads: from 1881 to 1904, Sherlock Holmes himself lived here. Officially, since 1990, the memory of the literary hero has been immortalized by the decision of the London Society of Fans of the Famous Detective - this museum has been opened. So a fictional character found a very real home. The Sherlock Holmes Museum occupies all four floors, the entire area of the first floor is reserved for a souvenir shop, leaving only a small hall uncluttered. But already on the second floor there is a famous apartment, consisting of two practically equivalent rooms, in which the spirit of the Victorian era is carefully preserved : a bedroom and an office.
Inexpensive and interesting
It is difficult to list everything that the Sherlock Holmes Museum can provide you with: photos, paintings, household items of popular literary characters and much more. Two hours is enough for you to explore the entire museum - it is relatively small, although extremely famous, and entertaining. The museum recreates the descriptions of Conan Doyle almost perfectly - small decorations, interior and exterior design are clearly executed with special love for his works. Pictures of the Sherlock Holmes Museum do not convey all the authenticity and unusualness that this museum actually possesses, so you should not spare money for an admission ticket. But the entrance to the museum will cost a tourist £ 8 - a decent price for the famous museum and adequate for London. For comparison, it is worth noting that an entrance to the equally amazing Ripley Museum would cost you 21 pounds, and the price of visiting the museum dedicated to the Harry Potter universe is 30 pounds. A ticket to the Sherlock Holmes House Museum will cost you just one pound more than a single ticket to the London Underground.
More about exhibits
The most popular in the presented exposition are the Turkish shoe (tobacco box) and violin, the equipment of the chemical laboratory, as well as the correspondence of the detective, peculiarly fixed on the fireplace shelf with a threaded penknife , are no less interesting to visitors . There is also an army-style revolver - the faithful companion of Dr. Watson. Everyone can take a chair in front of a burning fireplace, abstract from modernity and plunge headlong into the era of a beloved hero. The third floor of the house is occupied by Watson’s rooms with an abundance of medical guides and Mrs. Hudson, which houses the Holmes bronze monument and the museum’s book of reviews.
Wax Doubles
The fourth floor is occupied by the exposition of the heroes of all the detective novels of A. Doyle; naturally, it is opened by the figures of the detective and his partner. Further, the attention of visitors is attracted by the head of the very demonic dog of the Baskervilles, which caused superstitious horror in the county of Devonshire. Nearby, the hero of the novel “Union of the Reds” smiles slyly - a loan shark Jabez Wilson, the charismatic beggar Neville Saint-Clair - “A man with a split lip”. With a devilish expression on his face, like a tiger preparing to jump, Sherlock’s main opponent, the head of all crime in Victorian London, Professor Moriarty , was forever frozen .
Working hours
The Sherlock Holmes Museum in London is open daily from 9.30 to 18.00. The exhibition is rarely closed - at Christmas, that is, December 24th. The Sherlock Holmes Museum is not the only place in London where you must visit to feel the real English spirit. In general, in the capital of Great Britain there are a lot of no less interesting museums, galleries, monuments, theaters and cinemas. However, an ordinary tourist who has arrived in London for just a week will still not be able to see everything at once. Therefore, the house-museum of Sherlock Holmes should occupy one of the leading positions in his excursion list.