Bow Street Museum of Crime and Justice

The Bow Street Museum of Crime and Justice stands on a site that anchored London law enforcement for over two hundred and fifty years. You are looking at the location of the former Bow Street Magistrates Court and Police Station, a building that served as the nerve center for the citys evolving justice system from the eighteenth century until the early two thousands. Long before the professional Metropolitan Police force was established, this spot became the birthplace of modern policing. It was here in seventeen forty-nine that the novelist and magistrate Henry Fielding gathered a small group of paid constables to tackle the rampant street crime of Covent Garden. These men, initially called Mr. Fieldings People, soon gained fame as the Bow Street Runners. They provided the first organized, systematic response to criminal activity in the city, shifting the burden of order from poorly equipped local watchmen to a professional body.