Wigmore Street, from

“The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle”

Google Maps via London OS Town Plan 1893-1896 

Modern View

Wigmore Street is a street in the City of Westminster, in the West End of London. The street runs for about 600 yards parallel and to the north of Oxford Street between Portman Square to the west and Cavendish Square to the east. In Victorian London, Wigmore Street was one of shops, homes, and varying socioeconomic status. For Sherlock Holmes, and John H. Watson, Wigmore Street is merley one you pass by, to get to the next one, as dictated from Sir Arthur Conan Doyles “The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle”,

“Wimpole Street, Harley Street, and so through Wigmore Street into Oxford Street. In a quarter of an hour we were in Bloomsbury at the Alpha Inn, which is a small public-house at the corner of one of the streets which runs down into Holborn. “

On further investigation, I discovered that Wigmore Street remains largely overlooked, a mere passing street of little interest. Wigmore seems average now, in present day, and it seems that it was average in the setting of Sherlock. During the Victorian era, according to Booth Poverty Map’s, the middle class faced the street itself, while clusters of higher class would surround the blocks. Interestingly enough, small lines of blue and black even, indicated the poor and low class were close by too, impressively close to the wealthy even.

  Even with the varying levels of class, Wigmore remained somewhat stagnant and had low crime. This could be related to the police departments presence no more than a block away. However, when crime was committed it was usually theft according to court records from Old Bailey Online as well as Locating London. The theft is usually small, for example

SUSANNAH LACY was indicted for stealing, on the 27th of July , 33 yards of ribbon, value 5 s. , the goods of William Debenham and Thomas Clark .

WILLIAM DEBENHAM . I am in partnership with Thomas Clark ; we are haberdashers , and live in Wigmore-street, Cavendish-square . On the 27th of July, about two o’clock in the afternoon, Barnes called me, and said the prisoner had taken a piece of ribbon. I took her into the counting-house, and she produced it from her handkerchief.

FRANCIS BARNES . I am apprentice to the prosecutors. I saw the prisoner take the ribbon out of the drawer, and put it into her handkerchief.

(Property produced and sworn to.) Prisoner. Distress led me to it.GUILTY . Aged 44.Confined Six Months .Third Middlesex Jury, before Mr. Recorder.

She stole ribbon, and indicates that stress led her to doing so. There is no apparent drama or excitement, like I hoped, it seems on Wigmore Street. Due to it’s close proximity to Oxford Street, I looked into the London Eye website’s Oxford Street subcategory. There was not much information there. Highlighted in the British  History Online, are seemingly the wills of the wealthy who died in the Victorian Era, and either had residence on Wigmore Street or investment.

Wigmore Street remains one of little interest; to Holmes, as well as historians.

 Works Cited
“Booth Poverty Map & Modern Map (Charles Booth Online Archive).” Booth Poverty Map & Modern Map (Charles Booth Online Archive). N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2015. <http://booth.lse.ac.uk/cgi-bin/do.pl?sub=view_booth_and_barth&args=528400%2C181259%2C1%2Clarge%2C0>.
“Google Maps Engine: Map View.” Google Maps Engine: Map View. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2015. <https://mapsengine.google.com/07550989709782409818-08328807677136535917-4/mapview/?authuser=0>.
“The Historical Eye.” London 1896. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2015. <http://historicaleye.com/1896%20London%20then%20and%20now/index.html>.
“Home | LOCATING LONDON’S PAST.” Home | LOCATING LONDON’S PAST. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2015. <http://locatinglondon.org/>.
“The Proceedings of the Old Bailey.” Old Bailey Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2015. <http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/>.
“Search.” Search. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2015. <http://www.british-history.ac.uk/search/period/18th-century?query=%22wigmore+street%22&title=>.