The rapid population expansion that the railway brought to Croydon generated its own set of problems. The overcrowding in the older parts of the town caused a series of public health issues. These became of such concern that in 1849 Croydon got a local board of health which set to work improving matters with the construction of proper sewers and a reservoir. Croydon was one of the first towns to have such a body looking after its health.
1860 saw the opening of a rail route to London Victoria but this was very much the less important line. West London at this stage was the location for entertainment rather than office space. This situation was to remain the same until the early twentieth century. On Sunday mornings the train companies operated what became known as a ‘church break’. During this period no trains operated. The idea behind this was to discourage people from travelling when they should be in church.109
Today Croydon is approximately a fifteen minute car or bus journey from South Norwood and it is certainly possible that Conan Doyle visited during the period from mid 1891 to 1894 when he was resident in Tennison Road. What is certain is that one of the Sherlock Holmes stories, The Cardboard Box, was largely set in Croydon. This is the story where, due to a mistake, a Miss Susan Cushing receives a box containing two severed ears. She is described as living in Cross Street but a road of this exact name does not exist. There is however a Cross Road which may well have been the road Conan Doyle meant.
If this is indeed the road that Conan Doyle was thinking of it answers the question as to which of Croydon’s stations Holmes and Watson travelled to in order to meet Inspector Lestrade and visit Miss Cushing.
Cross Road, Croydon in 1996. Courtesy of Croydon Local Studies Library
The Cardboard Box is widely accepted by scholars to be set in 1888 (it was published in 1893). At this time there were two railway stations in proximity to Cross Road. West Croydon Station and East Croydon (opened July 12th 1841). Contemporary maps clearly show that the latter is the closer to Cross Road. There are today considerable numbers of express or fast trains from London to East Croydon that only stop once or twice on their way south. We already know from our look at Norwood Junction that the situation was very much the same in the late 1800s. Knowing that Holmes was not a man who wasted time we can be reasonably certain that it would have been an express train to this station that he and Watson used. If we then add to this the fact that in the story the journey from the station to Miss Cushing’s house is described as a ‘walk of five minutes’ it becomes even more likely that Cross Road is the Cross Street of the story.
A train arrives at East Croydon Station (1909). The picture very much represents the station as Holmes and Watson would have seen it upon their arrival in Croydon – Courtesy of Croydon Local Studies Library
Lestrade, Holmes and Watson examine the severed ears at the house of Susan Cushing in Croydon in The Cardboard Box (1893)
East Croydon Station (2008)
East Croydon Station in 1905, thirteen years after The Cardboard Box was published in the Strand. The main building essentially remained unchanged until the 1990s when it was rebuilt. Courtesy of Croydon Local Studies Library
109 Croydon: The Story of a Hundred Years.
Conclusion
So we have reached the end of our look at Holmes and Conan Doyle’s London. A major city such as London is forever on the move and it is perfectly possible, when writing a book such as this, to be overtaken by events.
The closure of the Café Royal on Regent Street is a perfect example of this continual change. At the time I originally wrote my section on Regent Street, the Café Royal was still a working business. As I write these lines the Café has been shut for several days and by the time you read this its contents will have been auctioned by Bonhams auctioneers. Fortunately for me this change occurred in time for me to alter my text but who is to say what else may change after this book makes it into your hands.
My thanks go out once again to all those who helped me in the production of this book. I hope you all like it.
APD.
Bibliography
Baring-Gould, W.S. Sherlock Holmes – A biography of the world’s first consulting detective. Published by Panther. ISBN 586-04260-1
Baring-Gould, W.S. The Annotated Sherlock Holmes. Published by John Murray. ISBN 0517502917
Carr, John Dickson. The Life of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Published by Carroll & Graff. ISBN 07867 1234 1
Clunn, Harold P. The Face of London. Published by Spring Books.
Dakin, D. Martin. A Sherlock Holmes Commentary. Published by David & Charles. ISBN 0-7153-5493-0
Davies, Bernard. Holmes and Watson Country: Travels in Search of Solutions. Published by The Sherlock Holmes Society of London.
Doyle, Arthur Conan. The Penguin Complete Sherlock Holmes. Published by Penguin. ISBN 0-14-005694-7
Emsley, Clive. The English Police: A Political and Social History. Published by Longman. ISBN 0582257689
Foley, Charles. Stashower, Daniel. Lellenberg Jon. Arthur Conan Doyle – A Life in Letters. Published by Harper Collins. ISBN 978-0-00-724759-2
Green, Richard Lancelyn. Conan Doyle of Wimpole Street. Published by The Arthur Conan Doyle Society. ISBN 1 899060 02 2
Green, Richard Lancelyn. Letters to Sherlock Holmes. Penguin Books. ISBN 0-1400-70354
Holroyd, James Edward. Baker Street By-Ways. Published by George Allen & Unwin
Jackson, Lee. A Dictionary of Victorian London. Published by Anthem Press. ISBN 1 84331 230 1
Klinger. Leslie S. The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes Volumes 1 & 2. Published by Norton. ISBN 0-393-05916-2
Klinger. Leslie S. The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes Volumes 3. Published by Norton. ISBN 0-393-05800-X
Lycett, Andrew. Conan Doyle – The Man Who Created Sherlock Holmes. Published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN 0297848526
Machmichael, J. Holden. The Story of Charing Cross, Published by Chatto & Windus.
Pointer, Michael. The Pictorial History of Sherlock Holmes. Published by WH Smith. ISBN 0861248546
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Index
A Case of Identity
A Scandal in Bohemia
A Study in Scarlet
Abbey House
Abbey National Bank
Adelphi Theatre
Adler, Irene
Alpha Inn
An American Lady
Anderson, Sir Robert
Anerley
Anerley Arms
Arthur Conan Doyle Society
Athenaeum
Baker Street
Baker Street By-Ways
Baker, Henry
Baldwin Hotel
Barclay, Colonel
Barker
Barnicot, Dr
Barrie, J.M.
Barry, E.M.
Barry, Edward Middleton
Baskerville, Sir Charles
Baskerville, Sir Henry
BBC
Beazley, Samuel
Bedford-Fenwick
Bedlam
Bertram Fletcher Robin
son
Blessington
Boone, Hugh
Bradshaw, George
Bradshaw’s Monthly Railway Guide
Breckinridge
British Journal of Nursing
British Museum
Brook Street
Bruce-Partington Plans
Brunel, Isambard Kingdom
Budd, Dr George Turnavine
Byrne, Charles
Café Royal
Cannon Street station
Carlton Club
Chaplin, Charlie
Chapman, Charles
Charing Cross
Charing Cross Hotel
Charlington Hall
Chatham
Churchill, Winston
Clayton, John
Collcutt, Thomas Edward
Conan Doyle
Conan Doyle, Dame Jean
Conduit Street
Covent Garden
Coward, Noel
Craven Street
Crippen, Dr
Criterion
Crocker, Captain
Cross Road
Cross Street
Croydon
Crystal Palace
Cubitt, Hilton
Cubitt, Lewis
Cushing, Susan
Dartmoor
Devonshire Place
Dickens, Charles
Dickson Carr, John
Diogenes Club
Douglas, Lord Alfred ‘Bosie’
Drebber
Eleanor Cross
Embankment
English Heritage
Eros
Euston
Fenians
Festival of Britain
Fleet Street
Fleming, Sir Alexander
Fountain Tavern
Fowler, Francis
Frohman, Charles
From Hell
Galton, Sir Francis
Gibbs, James
Gillette, William
Gipsy Hill
Gladstone, William
Glasshouse Street
Golden Cross
Gordon Hotels Company
Grand
Great Orme Street
Great Western Hotel
Green, Honourable Philip
Green, Richard Lancelyn
Green, Richard Lancelyn
Gregson Grosvenor Hotel
Gruner, Baron
Gull, Sir William
Haggard, H. Rider
Harding, Lyn
Hardwick, Philip
Hardwick, Philip Charles
Harley Street
Hawkshaw, Sir John
Hawkshaw, Sir John
Hay, Captain William
Henry, Edward Richard
Hill House Public House
His Last Bow
Holborn
Holmes
Holmes, Mycroft
Holmes, Sherlock
Holroyd, James Edward
Hopkins, Inspector Stanley
Hudson, Morse
Hunter, John
Hunter, Violet
Hunterian collection
Hutchinson, George
Incorporated Society of Authors
Jack the Ripper
Jane Annie
Jones, Athelney
Jones, Inigo
Kilravock House
King Solomon’s Mines
Kings Cross
Kipling, Rudyard
Knight, Stephen
Langham Hotel
Leckie, Jean
Lestrade
Holroyd, James Edward
Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine
Liverpool Street Station
Liverpool, Lord
London Bridge
London Bridge Station
Lower Norwood
Lyceum
Manson, Ethel Gordon
Marsham
Massey, Raymond
Matthews, Henry
Maxim, Sir Hiram Stevens
Mayne, Richard
Mazarin Stone
McFarlane, John Hector
Metropole
Metropolitan Police Fingerprint Bureau
Mexborough Private Hotel
Monro, James
Montague House
Montague Place
Montague Street
Moran, Colonel Sebastian
Moriarty
Morley’s
Morstan
Mortimer
Mortimer, Dr
Moulton, Francis H.
Murder by Decree
Museum Tavern
Napoleon
Nash, John
Netley, John Charles
Newton, Sir Isaac
Northumberland Arms Inn
Northumberland Avenue
Northumberland Hotel
Norwood
Norwood Junction
Oldacre, Jonas
Openshaw, John
Oxford Street
Paddington Station
Paget, Sidney
Palace Theatre
Pall Mall
Peter Pan
Piccadilly
Pilgrims Society
Plough
Pondicherry Lodge
Queen Anne Street
Reform Club
Regent Street
Reiss, Samuel
Rhodes, Cecil
Ritz, César
Roberts, Lord
Robinson, Bertram Fletcher
Robinson, Bertram Fletcher
Rodney Stone
Rowan, Sir Charles
Royal Automobile Club
Royal College of Physicians
Royal College of Surgeons
Royal Opera House
Royal Society
Roylott, Dr Grimsby
Saintsbury, H.A.
Sanderson, James
Savoy Hotel
Scotland Yard
Scott, Sir Walter
Shaw, George Bernard
Shaw, Norman
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes museum
Sherlock Holmes Public House
Sholto, Bartholomew
Sholto, Major John
Shoscombe Old Place
Silver Blaze
Simpson’s
Slaney, Abe
Sloane, Sir Hans
Small, Jonathan
South Norwood
Spiers & Pond
Spilsbury, Sir Bernard
St Bartholomew’s Hospital
St Marks Church
St Mary’s Hospital
St. Clair, Neville
St. Clement Danes
Stamford
Stangerson
Stanley, William
Stapleton
Starrett, Vincent
Staunton, Godfrey
Staunton, Howard
Stoddart, J.M.
Stoker, Bram
Stoner, Helen
Strand Magazine
Sullivan, Sir Arthur
Sutherland, Mary
Tennison Road
The Abbey Grange
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
The Blanched Soldier
The Blue Carbuncle
The Boscombe Valley Mystery
The Cardboard Box
The Copper Beeches
The Crooked Man
The Dancing Men
The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax
The Dying Detective
The Empty House
The Engineer’s Thumb
The Final Problem
The Five Orange Pips
The Golden Pince-Nez
The Greek Interpreter
The Hound of the Baskervilles
The House of Temperley
The Illustrious Client
The Kit-Cat Club
The Man with the Twisted Lip
The Missing Three-Quarter
The Musgrave Ritual
The Noble Bachelor
The Norwood Builder
&
nbsp; The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Priory School
The Problem of Thor Bridge
The Red Circle
The Resident Patient
The Retired Colourman
The Sign of Four
The Six Napoleons
The Solitary Cyclist
The Speckled Band
The Valley of Fear
The William Stanley
Theatre Royal
Tonga
Tottenham Court Road
Tracey, Jack
Trafalgar Square
Turf Fraud Scandal
Twain, Mark
Undershaw
Upper Wimpole Street
Verity, Thomas
Victoria
Vincent, Charles Edward Howard
Waterloo
Watson
Weight, Michael
West Norwood
Whitbread
White Bear
Wilde, Oscar
Wilson, Edward
Wimpole Street
Wisteria Lodge
Wolfe-Barry, John
Wontner, Arthur
Wren, Sir Christopher
Yardley, Stuart
Also from MX Publishing:
Brian W. Pugh and Paul R. Spiring
Bertram Fletcher Robinson
A Footnote to the Hound of the Baskervilles
Also from MX Publishing:
Alistair Duncan
Eliminate the Impossible
An Examination of the World of
Sherlock Holmes on Page and Screen
Close To Holmes Page 9