thumb|265px|Bow Street looking north. The former [[Bow Street Magistrates' Court building is top right.]]
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.
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. The street has historically been part of a through route from St Giles to Waterloo Bridge, though it is no longer the recommended signposted route. No bus services run along Bow Street, though the route of London Buses route RV1 (from Covent Garden to Waterloo Bridge) ran close by.
Bow Street was part of a B road, numbered B401, along with Wellington Street; but it has now been declassified and only Endell Street now bears the number.
History
Early history
thumb|A plaque on Bow Street, showing some notable former residents
The area around Bow Street was first developed by Francis Russell, 4th Earl of Bedford in 1633. Buildings were first erected on the west side of the street that year, and it was fully built by around 1635–36. Development to the northeast was restricted by a brick wall that had been built by the Earl's cousin, Edward Russell, 3rd Earl of Bedford, in 1610 as a land boundary and remained undeveloped for some time. It was eventually built on between 1673 and 1677, with eleven properties constructed. It was eventually connected by his son, William Russell, 1st Duke of Bedford, who gave ownership of the street over to the Paving Commissioners of St. Martin in the Fields, so it could be a public right of way. and converted into a boutique hotel and a police museum, both of which opened in May 2021.
Theatre
thumb|Bow Street entrance to the [[Royal Opera House]]
The Royal Opera House fronts onto Bow Street.
There has been a theatre on or near Bow Street since the first opened in 1732, designed by Edward Shepherd for the actor John Rich. Rich also lived on Bow Street between 1754 and 1761. The presence of the theatre gave the area a reputation for prostitution and changed the character of Bow Street. The first theatre was destroyed by fire in 1808, and a second building, designed by Robert Smirke, opened the following year, but was also destroyed by fire in 1856. The third building was designed by Edward Middleton Barry and opened in 1858. The Floral Hall, part of Barry's redevelopment, was badly damaged by fire in 1956, but the remainder survived through the 20th century. A £9.75 million modernisation and extension scheme took place between 1994 and 2000, including a reconstruction of the Floral Hall.
Cultural references
Bow Street Police Station is mentioned in the Sherlock Holmes story The Man with the Twisted Lip. At the station, Holmes reveals that the beggar Hugh Boone is the aristocrat Neville St. Clair in disguise.
Bow Street is one of the streets on the British version of the game Monopoly, which is based in London. It forms a group with Marlborough Street and Vine Street, all of which have connections to the police and law.
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