It was time to visit some of the London Sherlockian sites that I had previously missed, or been unaware of until the introduction of the Sherlock Holmes Society of London’s ‘The Gazetteer’. My focus was on two stories, ‘The Noble Bachelor’ and ‘The Second Stain’.
Catching the tube to Leicester Square, then to Russell Square, and passing a blue plaque to Conan Doyle’s friend, JM Barrie (with whom he co-wrote the operetta ‘Jane Annie’ for the Savoy Opera, and who wrote one of the first Sherlock Holmes parodies), I made my way to the nearby Great Ormond Street (‘Great Orme Street) where I took photos of a possible location of Mrs Warren’s lodging house in ‘The Red Circle’ with its mysterious lodger, and the building opposite where the denouement of the story takes place.
A fifteen minute walk, past a blue plaque for Richard D’Oyly Carte (who commissioned ‘Jane Annie’) and Russell Square where John met Mike Stamford in ‘Sherlock: A Study in Pink’, and I found myself at Gordon Square, for the first stop on an out-of-order visiting of the sites of ‘The Noble Bachelor’. Number 226 (which does not exist) was where Mr. and Mrs. Moulton had taken lodgings after Hatty left her wedding breakfast.
A ten minute walk past the telephone boxes seen in ‘Sherlock: The Lying Detective’ and I found myself a few steps away from the closed ‘Speedy’s Sandwich Bar & Café’, catching the Underground from Euston Square, changing at the Victorian platforms of Baker Street, reaching Bond Street. From here a short walk brought me to Grosvenor Square, where ‘Grosvenor Mansions’, the residence of jilted bridegroom Lord St Simon.
On the other side of the Square, was where Isadora Klein lived in 'The Three Gables', in ‘one of the finest corner houses of the West End’. #48 has been identified by scholars as the Klein residence, where Holmes and Watson travelled to get recompense for the death of the late Douglas Maberley.
Returning to the other side of the Square, and a further ten minutes walk, past Brook Street (where Percy Trevelyan had his practice in ‘The Resident Patient’) brought me to St. George’s Church, Mayfair, the church where Hatty Doran married Lord St Simon and where she was approached by her first husband Francis Moulton.
Five minutes later I was at Oxford Circus and catching the Victoria Line to Green Park, and another short walk to Berkley Square, where according to Watson in ‘The Illustrious Client’, General De Merville lived at number 104. It was also here where Kitty Winter attempted to persuade his daughter Violet, to break off her engagement to Baron Gruner. Number 3 has been identified by scholars as the true location of the De Merville residence.
Making my way back to Piccadilly, I turned right onto St James's Street, where a short distance down is the former site of Boodle’s Gentleman’s Club, Langdale Pike’s Club in ‘The Three Gables’.
Continuing down St. James’ Street, I continued onto Pall Mall, passing two possible Diogenes Clubs - #30 & #107 (see ‘Mycroft’s Rails’ for more details), until I reached Oceanic House, the shipping office of the Adelaide-Southampton line “which stands at the end of Pall Mall”, visited by Holmes in ‘The Abbey Grange’.
Taking a slight detour due to ‘West End Live 2021’ taking place in Trafalgar Square and closing some walkways, I made my way towards The Strand, then down Craven Street, the site of Mexborough Private Hotel where the Stapletons stayed in ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’ when ‘dogging’ Sir Henry in London.
Passing the ‘Sherlock Holmes Public House’, I made my way to the Corinthia Metropole Hotel, another possible location for the Northumberland Hotel in ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’, which was also visited by Mr. Melas in ‘The Greek Interpreter’ and stayed at by Francis Moulton in ‘The Noble Bachelor’.
At this point the heavens opened, so I sheltered in a nearby bookshop for around half-an-hour. Rain subsided, I made my way to the Victoria Embankment, reaching Richmond Terrace, the real-life ‘Whitehall Terrace’, the home of Trelawney Hope in ‘The Second Stain’ from where the document went missing and made a miraculous reappearance. The terrace is not accessible internally but can be viewed from the adjoining footpath which runs between it and The Ministry of Defence
Reaching Whitehall, I walked a short distance to Downing Street, where Lord Bellinger, Prime Minister, resided in ‘The Second Stain’. Security was out in force, so I took a photo from a distance. However, I had previously got some better shots from the Foreign Office (‘Mycroft’s Rails’).
Walking along King Charles Street, past the door from ‘The Naval Treaty’, I made my way to Horse Guards Road, and the HM Treasury building, whose courtyard appears in ‘Enola Holmes’ (2020), where Enola avoids Sherlock & Mycroft. Unfortunately there was no public access, so I had to take a rather ineffectual photo through a locked gate.
Continuing onto Parliament Square and then Victoria Street, Great Smith Street, Great Peter Street, then Gayfere Street, named ‘Godolphin Street’ by Watson in ‘The Second Stain’. ‘16 Godolphin Street’, was the home of the international spy Eduardo Lucas. Lucas was murdered by his wife in the front room. Under the carpet was a secret hiding place which at one stage held the document.
It was then a short walk back to Westminster Underground Station, catching the tube to Earl’s Court for my evening’s entertainment, a comic musical tribute to another famous detective, ‘Express G&S’, which to complete the circle of the day was based on the music of the Savoy Operas.
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