How Did Scotland Yard Get Its Name?
The name derives from its original location on a street off Whitehall called Great Scotland Yard. The exact origins of this name are unknown, though a popular explanation is that it was the former site of the residence of the Scottish kings (when staying in England) or their ambassadors, prior to the union of England and Scotland. An interesting and thorough explanation of this can be found here [1] ( http://www.tartans.com/…/…er+0,thold+0.html ). The premises later moved twice, once in 1890 to a location on the Victoria Embankment near the present-day Ministry of Defence and then again to the current premises in 1967; both new premises were called “New Scotland Yard”. (Source: [2] ( http://www.scotlandyard.police.uk/history/de
Headquarters of the London Metropolitan Police is called Scotland Yard. Scotland Yard received its name from the building that housed the London police until 1890. It was an ancient structure where visiting Scottish kings and ambassadors stayed between the 900s and the 1100s. In 1890, the Metropolitan Police moved into offices on the Thames Embankment. These offices were officially named New Scotland Yard. The name “Scotland Yard” is also used to mean the special department of the London police department called the Criminal Investigation Department, or CID. It is one of the most famous investigative organizations in the world.
Many Americans think that Scotland Yard is a detective force serving all of Britain, a kind of English FBI. But it isn’t. Scotland Yard is actually the name of a branch of the London police force, and it most often does not get involved in police cases outside the area of London. In the 10th century, King Edgar of England gave t
The original location of London’s first police building was at 4 Whitehall Place, with a rear entrance along a narrow lane named Scotland Yard.Michael Harrison, the indefatigable Holmes researcher, writes that London today would still have a sense of familiarity to someone who returned to it after the absence of a century. Holmes ate at Simpson’s in the Strand, and it still is a popular restaurant. A good five-course dinner would have cost Holmes about 3 shillings. It is more expensive today. Holmes, that great music lover, was constantly at Albert Hall, which is still in use. He would have gone to the Comedy Theater, the Garrick, the Duke of York’s – all still in action. The Northumberland Arms near Charing Cross Station, where Sir Henry Baskerville stayed, stands today and has been renamed The Sherlock Holmes. Upstairs is a Sherlock Holmes museum, including a reproduction of the sitting room in the Baker Street lodgings. And Madame Tussaud’s, which was down the block from Baker Stree
