Last modified on Fri 18 Dec 2020 10.19 EST
Its dock has had in it heroes such as Sylvia Pankhurst and Oscar Wilde, and a long list of villains including Dr Crippen, the Kray twins and Gen Pinochet. Its largest cell, known as “the tank”, was mostly filled with men caught drunk and disorderly in central London.
Next year, members of the public will be able to spend time in the cell voluntarily, probably sober and not overnight, when Bow Street police station and magistrates court becomes a museum. Plans were announced on Friday for the UK’s newest independent museum, with cells and offices converted into galleries for Bow Street Police Museum.