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 General 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.
Vicki Pipe, the museum manager, said the project had been delayed by the pandemic and she couldn't wait to welcome visitors. "There is such a rich history associated with the building and we're so excited that we're close to being able to finally open the doors - or reopen the doors, I guess."
The large "tank" cell was typically used to hold people arrested in the Covent Garden area for being drunk and disorderly before a morning appearance before magistrates. The plan is to invite visitors in to sit and hear oral history extracts put together with former officers.
Among the collections going on display will be the original dock from court number two, and early equipment used by the Bow Street Runners, London's first professional police force, who were the forerunners of the Metropolitan police. Personal effects from former officers based at the station, including beat books and truncheons, will also be exhibited.
Stories it will tell include the sensational appearance of Oscar Wilde at Bow Street on charges of gross indecency; and the extradition case of Augusto Pinochet, the former dictator of Chile.
The building at 28 Bow Street, a short walk from the Freemasons' UK headquarters, conspiracy theorists will note, opened in 1881. The police station closed in 1992 and the court in 2006.
It has been redeveloped into the NoMad London hotel, in which the museum will sit. Pipe said the plan was to tell lots of stories of investigations, arrests and court cases from the 18th century up to modern times.
The museum will also explore the court's unique status in being able to deal with extradition proceedings, terrorist offences and cases relating to the Official Secrets Act.
Tim Workman, the last serving chief magistrate at Bow Street, said it was the variety that made the court so interesting. "From drunks in Covent Garden to mass murderers wanted by their home country appearing before you in court, you never knew what to expect."
Pipe said the museum would also host events and discussions about modern policing and social justice.
The museum will open when guidelines allow in early 2021. It will operate as an independent charity funded initially by the hotel owners, the Sydell Group, but eventually becoming self-sufficient.
It adds to London's rich network of small independent museums such as those devoted to Charles Dickens in Doughty Street, Florence Nightingale at St Thomas' hospital and Handel and Jimi Hendrix in Brook Street.