Bow Street is a thoroughfare in Covent Garden

Covent Garden

Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...

, Westminster

City of Westminster

The City of Westminster is a London borough occupying much of the central area of London, England, including most of the West End. It is located to the west of and adjoining the ancient City of London, directly to the east of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and its southern boundary...

, London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. It features as one of the streets on the standard London Monopoly

Monopoly (game)

Marvin Gardens, the leading yellow property on the board shown, is actually a misspelling of the original location name, Marven Gardens. The misspelling was said to be introduced by Charles Todd and passed on when his home-made Monopoly board was copied by Charles Darrow and thence to Parker...

 board.

The area around Bow Street was developed by Francis Russell, 4th Earl of Bedford

Francis Russell, 4th Earl of Bedford

Francis Russell, 4th Earl of Bedford PC was an English politician. About 1631 he built the square of Covent Garden, with the piazza and church of St. Paul's, employing Inigo Jones as his architect...

 in the 1630s. Oliver Cromwell

Oliver Cromwell

Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....

 moved to Bow Street in 1645. Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford was born there in 1661. No. 4 served as a magistrates' court from 1739 and the Bow Street Runners

Bow Street Runners

The Bow Street Runners have been called London's first professional police force. The force was founded in 1749 by the author Henry Fielding and originally numbered just six. Bow Street runners was the public's nickname for these officers, "although the officers never referred to themselves as...

 were founded there by Henry Fielding

Henry Fielding

Henry Fielding was an English novelist and dramatist known for his rich earthy humour and satirical prowess, and as the author of the novel Tom Jones....

 in the 1740s. When the Metropolitan Police Service

Metropolitan Police Service

The Metropolitan Police Service is the territorial police force responsible for Greater London, excluding the "square mile" of the City of London which is the responsibility of the City of London Police...

 was established in 1829, a station house was sited at numbers 25 and 27. The former Bow Street Magistrates' Court

Bow Street Magistrates' Court

Bow Street Magistrates' Court was the most famous magistrates' court in England for much of its existence, and was located in various buildings on Bow Street in central London close to Covent Garden throughout its history.-History:...

 and police station was completed in 1881 and closed in 2006. The building is to be converted into a boutique hotel

Boutique hotel

Boutique hotel is a term popularized in North America and the United Kingdom to describe intimate, usually luxurious or unique hotel environments. Boutique hotels differentiate themselves from larger chain/branded hotels and motels by providing personalized accommodation and services / facilities...

.

Bow Street is also the site of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden.

See also

• Battle of Bow Street
  Battle of Bow Street
  The Battle of Bow Street is the name given to a riot which took place in Bow Street, London during March 1919. The riot involved an estimated 2000 Australian, American and Canadian servicemen fighting against 50 Metropolitan Police officers....
  
  
• Bow Street Magistrates' Court
  Bow Street Magistrates' Court
  Bow Street Magistrates' Court was the most famous magistrates' court in England for much of its existence, and was located in various buildings on Bow Street in central London close to Covent Garden throughout its history.-History:...
  
  
• Bow Street Runners
  Bow Street Runners
  The Bow Street Runners have been called London's first professional police force. The force was founded in 1749 by the author Henry Fielding and originally numbered just six. Bow Street runners was the public's nickname for these officers, "although the officers never referred to themselves as...
  
  

External links

• Bow Street at the Survey of London
  Survey of London
  The Survey of London is a research project to produce a comprehensive architectural survey of the former County of London. It was founded in 1894 by Charles Robert Ashbee, an Arts-and-Crafts architect and social thinker, and was motivated by a desire to record and preserve London's ancient monuments...
  
  online