Sherlock Holmes Museum facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
The Sherlock Holmes Museum

The exterior of the Sherlock Holmes Museum and doorway marked as 221B
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Established	1990; 35 years ago (1990)
Location	Baker Street London, NW1 United Kingdom
Public transit access	Baker Street Marylebone

The Sherlock Holmes Museum is a special museum in London, England. It is all about the famous detective Sherlock Holmes, who was a character in books. This museum was the first in the world to be dedicated to a fictional book character.

It opened in 1990 on Baker Street. The museum uses the address 221B, just like in the stories. The building is a beautiful old house built in 1815. It used to be a place where people could rent rooms.

The museum shows what it might have been like when Sherlock Holmes and his friend Doctor Watson lived there. The stories say they lived in the house from 1881 to 1904. The museum has items from different movies and TV shows about Sherlock Holmes. It also recreates scenes from the 1984 TV series Sherlock Holmes.

What is the 221B Baker Street Address?

The sitting room on the first floor of the museum

The address 221B Baker Street is very famous because of the Sherlock Holmes stories. For a long time, there was a small problem with mail sent to this address. The museum is located between numbers 237 and 241 on Baker Street.

Before the museum opened, a bank nearby received all the letters sent to Sherlock Holmes. They even had a special person to read and reply to these letters! The museum wanted to receive the mail instead. They felt it made more sense for them to answer fans.

In 2002, the bank moved out of its building. After that, all the mail for Sherlock Holmes started going directly to the museum. Now, the museum can answer all the letters from fans around the world.

What Did the Author's Family Think?

The front door of 221B Baker Street

Jean Conan Doyle was the daughter of Arthur Conan Doyle, who wrote the Sherlock Holmes books. She was not very excited about the London museum. She worried that the museum might make people think Sherlock Holmes was a real person.

There is even a special blue sign on the outside of the museum. It says the years Holmes supposedly lived there. This sign made some people believe he was real.

However, Jean Conan Doyle did support a different Sherlock Holmes museum in Switzerland. She even went to its opening in 1991. She was offered a chance to create a room in the London museum to honor her father. But she said no to this offer.

Images for kids

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  "Sitting Room"

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  The table set in "Sherlock Holmes's Room"

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  Sherlock's laboratory

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  "Holmes' Bedroom"

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  The typewriter at the end time of the 19th century

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  "Dr. Watson's Room", books

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  Bathroom

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  Sherlock Holmes Museum, Baker Street, "The Study"

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  Cyclist sculpture, put on display to illustrate the short story The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist

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  "Mrs Hudson's Room", fireplace

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  "Dr. Watson's Room", washstand