Bow Street Police Museum

Overview

Museum documenting the history of London’s police force, in the cells of a former police station

Area
Covent Garden
Price
£6.00 - under 12's free
Website
bowstreetpolicemuseum.org.uk
Hours
Fri-Sun
11:00 - 16:30
Photo of the exterior of the Bow Street Police Museum.
Photo by me

Review

The Bow Street Police Museum is, above all things, tiny. It consists of a single room that documents the early history of the police and a few cells with information about some of their infamous inhabitants.

Still, if you’re happy to do some reading then the museum is interesting. The early history of the police paints a vivid picture of 1700s London and I left armed with a list of things to read about later.

Small children might struggle to absorb all the dense boards of text, but the cells and their slightly grim plumbing did seem to keep the families visiting alongside me amused.

I’m not quite sure the experience is worth £6 per adult but if you keep the receipt you get a discount in the Royal Opera House cafe over the road.

Photo looking outwards from a cell with information boards.
Inside one of the cells in the museum

Talks