The Sherlock Holmes "Museum"

221 Baker Street: The Sherlock Holmes Museum

Photo: By Amanda Chain

This museum may have just won my heart. The Museum is a recent institution officially opening in March of 1990, bares all the appeal of a museum, but at the same time does not follow the sort of "authentic" nature you might expect in one. Beginning with its address, 221b sits between 237 and 245 Baker Street, and the museum petitioned to have the "official" address from the city of Westminster. Also, above it you'll see the familiar blue plaque from English Heritage that commemorates residences of famous Londoners; however, this is not  a real plaque, as they don't officially recognize residences of fictional characters.

Sherlock and Dr. Watson's Sitting Room

Photo: By Amanda Chain

But in all it's fakeness, this museum was one of the most interesting and authentic museums I've been to in London. For starters, the rooms were made to the scale and style as depicted in the novels. The paraphernalia that adorn the house are all era appropriate. You're encouraged to touch the objects and sit in the chairs and immerse yourself into the world of Arthur Conan Doyle's imagination. It represents a lodging house of that period and is a Grade Listed II building in its own right for its architectural and historical interest.

Sherlock's Bedroom

Photo: By Amanda Chain

It doesn't really matter that the address isn't real, and its most famous inhabitant never actually existed. What's important is that you come away with a tangible feeling of entering this alternate reality where he can and does exist. In someways, it is the connection to the tangible that makes this work so well, and there is no issue of conservation because what you touch can be replaced. The idea is conserved.

Letter Written to Sherlock Holmes

Photo: By Amanda Chain

A number of figures are positioned to create the illusion of various events in the Sherlock Holmes stories. Even Moriarty makes an appearance, as does a Hound of Baskervilles. My favorite attraction to the museum by far is the treat that is reserved for the end. There has been quite the legal dispute over who owns letters written to Sherlock Holmes, and since the dissolution of the opposing party, the museum retains all letters now addressed to Sherlock Holmes 221B Baker Street. It makes you wonder does it even matter that he's fiction? It begs the question: to be a museum, does everything have to be "real"?