Great Scotland Yard, London

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(Oct 2022)

Great Scotland Yard is a street in the St James's district within the City of Westminster, London. This relatively short street links Whitehall to Northumberland Avenue.

This is the street that gave its name to the Metropolitan Police of Greater London, which is called Scotland Yard. The Metropolitan Police force was formed in 1829. It occupied a building at 4 Whitehall Place - the next road parallel to it, but with an entrance at Great Scotland Yard. That was how the Metropolitan Police became known as Scotland Yard. It remained there until 1890, when it moved out of Great Scotland Yard to new premises at Victoria Embankment. At that time, the Metropolitan Police changed its name to New Scotland Yard. In 1967, it moved again to 10 The Broadway, where it is still located today.

The location of Great Scotland Yard in relation to St James's and Whitehall can be a bit confusing because though it is usually said to be within St James's, it is geographically located outside St James's. This is due to historical and administrative factors. The St James's ward of Westminster historically extended further east than what modern maps might suggest. Older records often included parts of the Whitehall area within "St James's." Before modern boundary changes, many areas near Whitehall were administratively part of St James's parish rather than Whitehall.

Many sources historically grouped streets near Trafalgar Square and Whitehall into the broader "St James's" district. Great Scotland Yard, though east of Whitehall, may have been considered part of St James's due to its proximity to St James's Park and government offices traditionally linked to the area.

Today, Whitehall is often thought of as the government district centered on Whitehall road and its ministries, rather than a distinct neighborhood with a large footprint. Great Scotland Yard falls into what many now classify as Whitehall rather than St James's, but older references might still place it within St James's.

How the street Great Scotland Yard got its name is not obscure. The likelihood is that the kings of Scotland used to own properties here prior to the 1707 Union of England and Scotland. Another theory is that a person named Scott lived or owned the property here during the Middle Ages. In any case, Great Scotland Yard has its share of famous people living there including architects Inigo Jones and Christopher Wren as well as poet John Milton.

How to reach Great Scotland Yard

Take the Bakerloo Line, Circle Line, District Line or Northern Line to the Embankment Tube Station and walk from there.

Map of Great Scotland Yard, London

 Map of Streets in London

The streets that I have described are marked in the map below in red. To read about the street, point your cursor to the red line and click.

List of Streets in London

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