Sherlock Holmes Museum

Numbering dispute

The address 221B was the subject of a protracted dispute between the museum and the nearby Abbey National building. Since the 1930s, the Royal Mail had been delivering mail addressed to Sherlock Holmes to the Abbey National Bank, and they had employed a special secretary to deal with such correspondence. The museum went through several appeals for such mail to be delivered to it, on the grounds that it was the most appropriate organisation to respond to the mail, rather than the bank, whose primary business was to lend money out on interest. Although these initiatives were all unsuccessful, the issue was finally resolved in 2002 when the Abbey National vacated its headquarters after seventy years, and the mail is currently delivered to the museum.

Family objections

Jean Conan Doyle made clear her lack of enthusiasm for the museum when she was asked about it. She was very much against the idea of suggesting that her father's creation was a real person and knew that the presence of the museum would reinforce the idea in the minds of many that Holmes had really existed. This idea was strengthened further by the presence of a commemorative blue plaque on the outside that states the years of Holmes's supposed residency. However, Dame Jean Conan Doyle lent her support to the Sherlock Holmes Museum in Switzerland by attending its opening in 1991. Dame Jean was offered the opportunity to create a room in the London museum dedicated to her father, but this offer was refused, and since then the last remaining possessions of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle have been sold off at auction. File:Sherlock Holmes Museum 001.jpg|"Sitting Room" File:Sherlock Holmes Museum 003.jpg|The table set in "Sherlock Holmes's Room" File:Sherlock Holmes Museum Study 1.jpg|Sherlock's laboratory File:Sherlock Holmes Museum 004.jpg|"Holmes' Bedroom" File:Typewriter in Sherlock Holmes Museum.jpg|The typewriter at the end time of the 19th century File:Sherlock Holmes Museum 007.jpg|"Dr. Watson's Room", books File:Sherlock Holmes Museum 011.jpg|Bathroom File:Sherlock Holmes Museum 002.jpg|Sherlock Holmes Museum, Baker Street, "The Study" File:Sherlock Holmes Museum 009.jpg|Cyclist sculpture, put on display to illustrate the short story The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist File:Sherlock Holmes Museum 008.jpg|"Mrs Hudson's Room", fireplace File:Sherlock Holmes Museum 006.jpg|"Dr. Watson's Room", washstand

References

References

1. Harper, Philip. "Sherlock Holmes Museum {{!}} Museums London – FREE resource of all 200 museums in London.".
2. McClure, Rosemary. (30 October 2018). "A not-so-elementary guide to Sherlock Holmes' London". [[Los Angeles Times]].
3. was Thomas Bruce Wheeler. (2003). "Finding Sherlock's London: Travel Guide to Over 200 Sites in London". iUniverse.
4. (11 January 2004). "Sherlock Holmes 101". Washington Post.
5. "About the museum".
6. {{NHLE
7. Stamp, Jimmy. (18 July 2012). "The Mystery of 221B Baker Street". [[Smithsonian (magazine).
8. Duncan, Alistair. (2009). "Close to Holmes: A Look at the Connections Between Historical London, Sherlock Holmes and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle". [[MX Publishing]].
9. "The Reichenbach Irregulars - die Schweizer Sherlock Holmes-Gesellschaft".