Old police cells, including a so-called drunk tank, have been restored as historical exhibits in London’s newest museum, charting evolution of policing in the British capital.
The Bow Street Police Museum in Covent Garden, which opens to visitors for the first time on Friday, is housed inside one of London’s first police stations, dating back nearly a century and a half.
Situated next to a former magistrates’ court, most of the site has been converted into a luxury hotel but part of the original police station now showcases its extraordinary history.
Visitors can step inside renovated cells which once held murderers, suffragettes, dictators — and even the playwright Oscar Wilde.
‘Bow Street Magistrates’ Court saw lots of famous cases pass through,’ the museum’s curator Jen Kavanagh told AFP during a preview tour.
