Swan Lane

Upper Swandam Lane

~ Courtney K.

Swan Lane

 

In Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s short Sherlock Holmes story, “The Man with the Twisted Lip”, the reader is introduced to the eerie and narrow Upper Swandam Lane based on its realistic counterpart, Swan Lane.

Upper Swamdam Lane, according to Dr. Watson is “a vile alley lurking behind the high wharves which line the north side of the river to the east of London Bridge. Between a slop-shop and a gin-shop, approached by a steep flight of steps leading down to a black gap like the mouth of a cave, I found the den of which I was in search” (Doyle 128). East London, as we have consistently read about, is not a nest that the rich are wont to reside. Depicted on the map above, Swan Lane looks as though it is hidden, making it a back-alley to put the poor of London with only a single entrance from Thames Street. Because of Swan Lane’s location in London, being relatively near the Thames and surrounded by various wharves and piers, the incoming trafficking of opium made Swan Lane a perfect area for Doyle to fictionalize his pivotal plot point of the opium den.

swan poverty pic

 

From The Charles Booth Online Poverty Archive, Swan Lane, located inside the star on the above image, is light blue in color, indicating the impoverished living in the area. Due to the poor, seemingly closed off street, and its proximity to London Bridge and Cannon Street Station, Doyle’s character Neville St. Clair is able to embody a beggar and use the opium den as a changing room from one facet of life into another. The opium den reeling in the rich to a poverty-stricken area is a perfect place to cross one social class border into another. Especially when the rich are emptying their pockets to quell their opium addictions.

All in all, the historical data from the Booth Online Poverty Archive and the location of Swan Lane bring to life Doyle’s depiction of Upper Swandam Lane, as well as accurately expose a pocketed opium den. Through this, Doyle is able expose corruption of social class and addiction through a narrow port area.

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Works Cited:

Doyle, Arthur Conan. The Man with the Twisted Lip. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.

“Booth Poverty Map & Modern Map (Charles Booth Online Archive).” Booth Poverty Map & Modern Map (Charles Booth Online Archive). N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2015.

Swan Lane- The Man with the Twisted Lip

~ Heather Ryan

Upper Swandom Lane, or Swan Lane as it was actually known, is the location of the opium den in the Sherlock Holmes story, “The Man with the Twisted Lip” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It is from this den that Neville St. Clair supposedly disappears. It is the last place that his wife sees him and foul play is suspected by his family, the police, and Holmes. Eventually it is revealed that St. Clair was not missing at all, simply living his double life as a successful beggar from his base above the opium den.

In real life, Swan Lane is a street adjacent to London Bridge on the north side of the River Thames. As seen from the Victorian google map, the southern end of the lane juts against the river and is sometimes underwater at high tide. This becomes a plot point in the Holmes story as Mr. St. Clair throws his coat out the window and into the river when he hurriedly transforms into his beggar self. This action leads the police to believe that Neville St. Clair has met a terrible fate.

SwanLane

As can be seen from the Booth Poverty Map of the region, this street was one of the poorest in London. It is little wonder an upstanding citizen disguised as a beggar would make his base here as he would blend in so well with the surrounding socioeconomic environment. No one who knew St. Clair would ever think to look for him amongst the riffraff hanging around the docks.

SwanLakeCharlesBooth

Shown by the black marks on the map, Swan Lake was also a hotbed of criminal activity. It is little wonder then that Dr. Watson runs into Holmes investigating a crime on the street or, as Holmes notes, that it is so common for people to disappear from the very opium den in question.

Doyle, Arthur Conan. The Man with the Twisted Lip. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.

“Booth Poverty Map & Modern Map (Charles Booth Online Archive).” Booth Poverty Map & Modern Map (Charles Booth Online Archive). N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2015.