Bow Street

Bow Street is a thoroughfare in Covent Garden, Westminster, London. It connects Long Acre, Russell Street and Wellington Street, and is part of a route from St Giles to Waterloo Bridge.

The street was developed in 1633 by Francis Russell, 4th Earl of Bedford for residential purposes. A number of notable people lived here in the 17th and 18th centuries, including Oliver Cromwell and Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford. In the 18th century, the street declined as a place of residence following the establishment of the nearby Covent Garden Theatre, which led to a reputation for prostitution. During the 19th century, Bow Street was a de facto extension of Covent Garden and its associated markets, selling then-exotic fruit and vegetables.^[1]

Bow Street has a strong connection with the law; the Bow Street Runners, an early voluntary police force, was established here by Henry Fielding in 1750, and the Metropolitan Police Service operated a station house from 1832, which led to the construction of the Bow Street Magistrates' Court.

Today, only a short run of buildings from No. 35 to Russell Street remain on their original sites; the rest having been given up for large buildings.^[2]