Scotland Yard

Headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service, Westminster, Greater London

For other uses, see Scotland Yard (disambiguation).

Scotland Yard

The iconic sign outside the New Scotland Yard came to prominence when it was first located outside an earlier Scotland Yard building.

Alternative names| New Scotland Yard
General information
Address|

* 1829–1890: 4 Whitehall Place, St James's, City of Westminster (with a public entrance in Great Scotland Yard)

* 1890–1967: Norman Shaw Buildings, Victoria Embankment, City of Westminster
* 1967–2016: 8–10 Broadway, City of Westminster
* 2016–present: New Scotland Yard, Victoria Embankment, City of Westminster

Town or city| City of Westminster, Greater London
Country| United Kingdom
Coordinates| 51°30′10″N 0°7′27″W﻿ / ﻿51.50278°N 0.12417°W﻿ / 51.50278; -0.12417

Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's 32 boroughs. Its name derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had its main public entrance on the Westminster street called Great Scotland Yard.[1] The Scotland Yard entrance became the public entrance, and over time "Scotland Yard" came to be used not only as the common name of the headquarters building, but also as a metonym for the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) itself and police officers, especially detectives, who serve in it.[2] The New York Times wrote in 1964 that, just as Wall Street gave its name to New York's financial district, Scotland Yard became the name for police activity in London.[3]

The force moved from Great Scotland Yard in 1890, to a newly completed building on the Victoria Embankment, and the name "New Scotland Yard" was adopted for the new headquarters.[4] An adjacent building was completed in 1906. A third building was added in 1940. In 1967 the MPS consolidated its headquarters from the three-building complex to a tall, newly constructed "New Scotland Yard" building on Broadway in nearby Victoria. In 2013, it was announced that the force would move again to the Victoria Embankment at Westminster's Curtis Green Building, which following tradition was renamed "New Scotland Yard".[5] This move to the latest New Scotland Yard was completed in 2016.[6][7]

## History

[edit]

The Metropolitan Police Service is responsible for law enforcement within Greater London, excluding the square mile of the City of London, which is covered by the City of London Police, and also excluding the London Underground and National Rail networks, which are the responsibility of the British Transport Police.

### 4 Whitehall Place

[edit]

8 and 9 Great Scotland Yard (far left, with clock), next to the Public Carriage Office (right) at 4 Whitehall Place, Westminster, London, and right, a commemorative blue plaque on the building now on the site of 4 Whitehall Place.

The Metropolitan Police was formed by Robert Peel with the implementation of the Metropolitan Police Act, passed by Parliament in 1829.[1] Peel, with the help of Eugène-François Vidocq, selected the original site on Whitehall Place for the new police headquarters. The first two commissioners, Charles Rowan and Richard Mayne, along with various police officers and staff, occupied the building. Previously a private house, 4 Whitehall Place (51°30′22″N 0°07′34″W﻿ / ﻿51.50598°N 0.12609°W﻿ / 51.50598; -0.12609﻿ (Original Scotland Yard – 4 Whitehall Place)) backed onto a street called Great Scotland Yard. The building now on the site of 4 Whitehall Place (the 1950s rear extension to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food[8]) still has a rear entrance on Great Scotland Yard.

By 1887, the Metropolitan Police headquarters had expanded from 4 Whitehall Place into several neighbouring addresses, including 3, 5, 21 and 22 Whitehall Place and several stables, including one at 7 Great Scotland Yard still in use by the mounted branch.[1] These also included buildings which fronted onto the north side of Great Scotland Yard, with the address of 8 and 9 Great Scotland Yard, sometimes shown on maps as a station or "police office" on A Division but actually used from 1842 as the central headquarters of the new Detective Branch.[9] Those buildings were damaged in an 1884 Fenian bomb attack and are now lost under the former Central London Recruiting Office, which was acquired by hypermarkets operator Lulu Group International in 2015 and reopened as a Hyatt luxury hotel four years later.[10][11]

### Victoria Embankment

[edit]

The "New" Scotland Yard (built 1890 and 1906), now called the Norman Shaw Buildings; at the far right is the Curtis Green Building (white), which became New Scotland Yard in November 2016

In the 1880s the force decided that it had outgrown its original site, and moved to a new headquarters designed by architect Richard Norman Shaw (51°30′08″N 0°07′29″W﻿ / ﻿51.50222°N 0.12463°W﻿ / 51.50222; -0.12463﻿ (New Scotland Yard – Norman Shaw North Building (second location))) on the Victoria Embankment, overlooking the River Thames, south of what is now the Ministry of Defence's headquarters. In 1888, during the construction of the new building, workers discovered the dismembered torso of a female; the case, known as the 'Whitehall Mystery', was never solved. In 1890, police headquarters moved to the new location, which was named New Scotland Yard. By this time, the Metropolitan Police had grown from its initial 1,000 officers to about 13,000 and needed more administrative staff and a bigger headquarters. Further increases in the size and responsibilities of the force required even more administrators and space. Therefore, new buildings were constructed and completed in 1906 and 1940, so that New Scotland Yard became a three-building complex. (51°30′07″N 0°07′28″W﻿ / ﻿51.50183°N 0.12446°W﻿ / 51.50183; -0.12446﻿ (Norman Shaw South Building (extension to New Scotland Yard))). The first two buildings are now a Grade I listed structure known as the Norman Shaw Buildings.

### 10 Broadway

[edit]

The former New Scotland Yard building in Victoria Street

The headquarters of the Metropolitan Police were moved to 8–10 Broadway in 1967, in a new building constructed on a site that also bordered onto Victoria Street.

In 2008, the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) bought the freehold of 10 Broadway for around £120 million.[12]

10 Broadway was sold to the Abu Dhabi Financial Group in December 2014 for £370 million, and redevelopment plans for a six-building, mixed-use development were approved in February 2016.[13] Ownership was officially passed from the MPA to the Abu Dhabi Financial Group when the relocation was completed on 31 October 2016;[6] the building began demolition later that year.[14]

### Current location

[edit]

Further information: New Scotland Yard (building)

The current site of New Scotland Yard, formerly the Curtis Green Building

In May 2013, the Metropolitan Police confirmed that the New Scotland Yard building on Broadway would be sold and the force's headquarters would be moved back to the Curtis Green Building on the Victoria Embankment. A competition was announced for architects to redesign the building prior to the Metropolitan Police moving to it in 2015.[15] This building previously housed the Territorial Policing headquarters and is adjacent to the original New Scotland Yard (Norman Shaw North Building).

Rotating sign

In December 2015, construction work on the exterior of the Curtis Green building was completed.[16] On 31 October 2016, the Metropolitan Police staff left the building at 10 Broadway and moved to their new headquarters.[6] The new New Scotland Yard building was to have been opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 23 March 2017, but that same day it was announced that the Royal opening would be postponed, due to the preceding day's terrorist attack at Westminster.[7] The opening was re-arranged for 13 July 2017.[17] Like all three of its predecessors it houses the Met's Crime Museum (formerly known as the Black Museum), founded in 1874, a collection of criminal memorabilia not open to the public.[18]

## Popular culture

[edit]

Scotland Yard has appeared in books, films, and television since the Victorian era when it featured in the Jack the Ripper cases and the stories of Sherlock Holmes.[19][20] Wilkie Collins's novel The Moonstone (1868), a tale of a Scotland Yard Detective investigating the theft of a valuable diamond, has been described as perhaps the earliest clear example of the police procedural genre.[21][22] In Robert Louis Stevenson's gothic novella Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886), Inspector Newcomen, a Scotland Yard Detective, explores Hyde's loft in Soho and discovers evidence of his depraved life.[23]

Alfred Hitchcock's 1929 thriller film Blackmail (widely considered the first British "talkie") features a Scotland Yard Detective Frank Webber (played by John Longden).[24]

Scotland Yard appears in the 1972 episode of Columbo, "Dagger of the Mind". Columbo visits Scotland Yard to study the investigative techniques they use in London before becoming involved as a consultant for a murder case.[citation needed]

In Monty Python's 1969 comedy sketch "The Funniest Joke in the World", Graham Chapman plays a Scotland Yard Inspector who leaves the house with the joke in hand before dying from laughter.[25]

Scotland Yard has also appeared in the Professor Layton series as supporting characters, which Layton helped them in solving many cases. Inspector Chelmey and Constable Barton are the most appearing of Scotland Yard's members.[26]

A fictional version of New Scotland Yard appears in the film V for Vendetta[27] and in the video game Watch Dogs: Legion, where it is depicted as an Albion-controlled site.[28]

Jeffrey Archer's William Warwick series, starting with Nothing Ventured in 2019, follows William Warwick, the protagonist's rise from a detective constable to senior ranks within Scotland Yard.[29]

Further depictions include:

* Scotland Yard (film series): 1953–61.
* Colonel March of Scotland Yard: 1954–55.
* Scotland Yard (TV series): 1960.
* New Scotland Yard (TV series): 1972–74.
* Gideon of Scotland Yard: book and film
* Sergeant Cork: 1963-1966

## See also

[edit]

* London portal

* Whitehall 1212 – for many years, the main public telephone number of Scotland Yard
* Sakurada Gate (Sakuradamon) ― One of the gates at Tokyo Imperial Palace, which is used as a metonym for the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department（TMPD）
* List of law enforcement agencies in the United Kingdom, Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c "History of the Metropolitan Police Service". Metropolitan Police Service. Archived from the original on 3 July 2013. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
2. ^ Newton, Stephen Leslie (1992). German/English Lexicographical Contrasts: City, Queen (quean), Yard. University of California, Berkeley. p. 75.
3. ^ Farnsworth, Clyde H. (15 May 1964). "Move is planned by Scotland Yard". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
4. ^ Hutton, Mike (15 March 2012). The Story of Soho: The Windmill Years 1932–1964. p. 104\. ISBN 978-1-445-60684-2.
5. ^ "New Metropolitan Police HQ announced as Curtis Green Building". BBC News. 20 May 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
6. ^ a b c Bullen, Jamie (1 November 2016). "Metropolitan Police staff move out of New Scotland Yard after 49 years". Evening Standard. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
7. ^ a b The words "New Scotland Yard" (in tall letters) can be seen in a photograph of the front of the building, atop the glass entrance at the base of the facade. Patel, Salina (23 March 2017). "Royal opening of new Met Police HQ postponed following London terrorist attack: The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh were due to visit New Scotland Yard today". getwestlondon.co.uk. Trinity Mirror Southern. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
8. ^ "GOVERNMENT OFFICES, MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE FISHERIES AND FOOD GOVERNMENT OFFICES, MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE FISHERIES AND FOOD WEST BLOCK". Historic England.
9. ^ John Moylan, Scotland Yard and the Metropolitan Police, 1929, pp. 93–4
10. ^ Ackerman, Naomi (9 December 2019). "First look: Scotland Yard hotel opens after revamp". Evening Standard. London. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
11. ^ "Great Scotland Yard Hotel". Hyatt. Archived from the original on 29 January 2020. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
12. ^ Davenport, Justin (30 October 2012). "Metropolitan Police to sell New Scotland Yard". Evening Standard. London. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
13. ^ Curry, Rhiannon (24 February 2016). "Green light to demolish New Scotland Yard to make way for flats". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
14. ^ Rowlinson, Liz (18 October 2019). "Prime property buyers return to Westminster". Financial Times. London. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
15. ^ "Met confirms Scotland Yard to be sold". The Australian. 20 May 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
16. ^ Spendelow, Nathan (1 December 2016). "New Met HQ officially completed, with police to move in by end of next year". Get West London. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
17. ^ Grafton-Green, Patrick (13 July 2017). "The Queen comes face-to-face with bomb disposal robot and arsenal of weapons on tour of Scotland Yard's new HQ". Evening Standard. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
18. ^ "The Crime Museum". Metropolitan Police. Archived from the original on 24 December 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
19. ^ Begg, Jack the Ripper: The Definitive History, p. 205; Evans and Rumbelow, pp. 84–85
20. ^ "Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson in the 21st century: it's elementary". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
21. ^ Noir in the North Genre, Politics and Place. Bloomsbury Publishing. 2020. p. 247.
22. ^ "Wilkie Collins, The Moonstone". British Library. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
23. ^ "Robert Louis Stevenson's Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde". British Library. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
24. ^ "Blackmail (1929)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 31 December 2017. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
25. ^ "Monty Python's 10 funniest sketches". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
26. ^ Ellison, Cara (12 November 2013). "Professor Layton and The Azran Legacy – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 February 2025.
27. ^ Hicks, Chris (3 August 2006). "'V for Vendetta' leads list of latest releases". Deseret News. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
28. ^ "Watch Dogs: Legion – Hack, Fight, and Sneak as Anyone to Take Back London – E3 2019". Ubisoft News. Ubisoft. 10 June 2019. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
29. ^ PTI (26 September 2019). "Goal is to keep going to finish new 8-book series: Jeffrey Archer". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 1 October 2024.

## External links

[edit]

Map all coordinates using OpenStreetMap

Download coordinates as:

* KML
* GPX (all coordinates)
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Scotland Yard.

* Metropolitan Police Branches Archived 11 August 2020 at the Wayback Machine
* Blumberg, Jess. "A Brief History of Scotland Yard", Smithsonian.com, 28 September 2007.

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