Bow Street

Street in London, England, between Long Acre and Russell Street, the location of a famous police court. The work of the Bow Street magistrates formerly embraced executive functions which are now performed by the commissioner of the Metropolitan Police; the Bow Street Runners served writs and acted as detectives until 1829.

The first Bow Street magistrate was Sir Thomas de Veil, who, when an acting justice in 1735, lived in Bow Street, and the court owes its subsequent establishment to him. Henry Fielding, the novelist, was the next holder of the post.