Visit to the Bow Street Police Museum

The Bow Street Police Museum is located in the former Magistrates’ Court and Bow Street Police Station. The latter was closed in 1992 and the former in 2006. The court house was first opened by Thomas de Veil in 1740. Henry Fielding, a member of Middle Temple, took over operations in 1749, and created the first police force in London, affectionally nicknamed The Bow Street Runners. Many of our members will remember this famous (infamous?) courtroom. The visit may include access to the courtroom, if it is not in use on the night (it is now an events space).

In this talk at Bow Street Police Museum, on the site of the former Bow Street Magistrates' Court and Police Station, Vicki Pipe (Museum Manager) and Alan Sharpington (Museum Coordinator) will explore the life and crimes of Covent Garden. 

Discover how the often ramshackle and corrupt system of dispensing justice in the 18th century led to the formation of England's first police force, the Bow Street Runners. This legacy turned Bow Street Court into one of the most well-known in the country, seeing high-profile cases from Oscar Wilde, the Pankhursts and Dr Crippen, to the Kray twins, Vivienne Westwood and Jeffrey Archer. 

This visit is open to members of all four Inns and their guests. If you are a member of another Inn, please book by emailing library@middletemple.org.uk.

If you would like to add a small donation to the rare book sponsorship fund please click here.

For further details please contact the Librarian: library@middletemple.org.uk.

Arrest of the Cato Street Conspirators during which a Bow Street Runner was killed. This group of political radicals had planned to assassinate the Prime Minister as the precursor to sparking a national revolution. They were based at a stable block in Cato Street and had been infiltrated by a government agent. Illustration from An Authentic History of the Cato-Street Conspiracy by George Theodore Wilkinson, 1820, which is part of the Library's Rare Book Collection.