BBC Sherlock Fan Forum - Serving Sherlockians since February 2012 / Where in London is John's bedsit?

**Posted by kgreen20** September 15, 2015 1:28 am

Before John moves in with Sherlock, he lives in an efficiency apartment, as we would call it here in America (or a bedsit, as they call it in Great Britain). I know it's a bedsit because the entrance door opens right into the bedroom instead of a living room, and there's a tiny kitchen right next to the bedroom. (I assume there's also a bathroom.) Obviously, it's not located in central London, in Westminster, as 221B Baker Street is. So would anyone care to guess where in London the bedsit is located?

**Posted by SusiGo** September 15, 2015 7:29 am

Tbh, I have no idea. We never see the house from the outside. So just some guesses:

- It would have to be a cheap accommodation since when meeting Mike in the park John mentions that he does not have much money to spend.
- The pink lady crime scene is in Brixton which is south of the Thames. From there John is taken to the ware-house where he meets Mycroft. Next he goes to his bedsit to get the gun and then to Baker Street. He tells Sherlock "I was the other side of London." This probably refers to the warehouse.

This is all very vague. I would think that the bedsit is quite far from Baker Street in a not very well-to-do neighbourhood.

**Posted by Vhanja** September 15, 2015 7:55 am

Does anyone know where the park is? Because I can imagine the bedsit wouldn't be far from the park. Seeing as he has to walk with a cane and have very little money, it would make sense for him to not travel too far from his home when he goes out.

**Posted by ukaunz** September 15, 2015 8:22 am

I think it was Russell Square Gardens, which is close to the British Museum, so very central and probably not a cheap area to rent.

Last edited by ukaunz (September 15, 2015 8:25 am)

**Posted by Vhanja** September 15, 2015 8:27 am

ukaunz wrote:
I think it was Russell Square Gardens, which is close to the British Museum, so very central and probably not a cheap area to rent.

Completely OT, but I got all fluttery reading your post. When hubby and I visited London last year, we lived in a hotel between Russell and Holborn station, just a few minutes walk from British Museum. I suddenly got all teenage-y and fangirl-y thinking that John's bedsit was perhaps in that area. And that I was so close to a set location.

Last edited by Vhanja (September 15, 2015 8:29 am)

**Posted by kgreen20** September 15, 2015 5:00 pm

Vhanja wrote:
Does anyone know where the park is? Because I can imagine the bedsit wouldn't be far from the park. Seeing as he has to walk with a cane and have very little money, it would make sense for him to not travel too far from his home when he goes out.

He probably has to take the Tube when he goes to see his therapist; perhaps the park is not far from her office. Cabs are obviously out of the question for him--too expensive.

**Posted by kgreen20** September 15, 2015 5:01 pm

ukaunz wrote:
I think it was Russell Square Gardens, which is close to the British Museum, so very central and probably not a cheap area to rent.

Possibly close to his therapist's office, though, and he probably has to take the Tube to get to his appointments with her since he can't afford a cab.

**Posted by kgreen20** September 15, 2015 5:06 pm

SusiGo wrote:
Tbh, I have no idea. We never see the house from the outside. So just some guesses:

- It would have to be a cheap accommodation since when meeting Mike in the park John mentions that he does not have much money to spend.
- The pink lady crime scene is in Brixton which is south of the Thames. From there John is taken to the ware-house where he meets Mycroft. Next he goes to his bedsit to get the gun and then to Baker Street. He tells Sherlock "I was the other side of London." This probably refers to the warehouse.

This is all very vague. I would think that the bedsit is quite far from Baker Street in a not very well-to-do neighbourhood.

That's what I suspect, too. His bedsit may even be south of the Thames, as Brixton is. I think you're right on all counts.

**Posted by Whisky** September 30, 2015 10:48 pm

The other side of London, in my opinion, could be:
South London (other side as in across the river)
East London (as Baker Street has a West London postcode)
North-East London (because I've travelled from there to Baker Street and it felt like other side of London really even if postcodes suggest it's closer)

I would guess it's a cheap area, too (although that's relatively speaking, knowing London prices)

As John is driven around in Mycrofts car we can't be sure about the time it has taken to get from A to B. Do we know if the warehouse was close to John's flat?

I think a strong hint is that John is willing to get a cab from the crime scene. Cabs are expensive. I think he wouldn't call one if it was really far. Also possible he just called it to get to the station, but the busy street (compared to the time of day) he is later on looks a lot like there would be a tube station close by (usually is when the street is very busy). So I would guess he indeed lives south of the river not too far from Brixton. Which wouldn't be such a bad tube journey to Baker Street, actually, which confuses me a bit. Not sure I would call that "other side of London", it wouldn't take so much time all in all from Brixton, because Victoria Line is pretty fast and it's just one change. If he would take the tube.

Maybe he does mean the warehouse, and that's further away.

(if he was living on that Northern Line south end, I would totally agree on his "other side of London" comment, though)

Thinking about his comment about money, I'd guess he doesn't go much by tube, but takes busses, because that's the cheapest option. Really don't know why he calls a cab then though, because busses operate pretty much everywhere...

Last edited by Whisky (September 30, 2015 10:52 pm)

**Posted by Vhanja** October 1, 2015 9:31 am

Also, considering that his leg is really acting up at that time, a route that wouldn't be too long for people with no pain can be quite bad for someone with a bad leg. All those steps up and down the tubes etc.

**Posted by kgreen20** October 1, 2015 5:16 pm

Good points, both of you.

**Posted by Dorothy83** October 14, 2015 10:54 am

As a Londoner, 'the other side of London' means to me East or South East London (past zone 2). You could find studios like that in central london, but yes they would be expensive - and anyway if it's taken him long to get to Baker Street then it's definitely not central london.

**Posted by kgreen20** October 15, 2015 12:48 am

I agree.

**Posted by Little Weed** January 19, 2016 11:41 pm

I always thought it was some kind of "halfway house" for invalided soldiers seen as it looks very much like university accomodation... There are places like that over here... there was one recently on a Alex Polizzi documentary about getting ex service men back into work.

I just assumed as he was pretty much better his time was up in that place and he was having to look for new accomodation as he'd been asked to move on.

Last edited by Little Weed (January 19, 2016 11:41 pm)

**Posted by kgreen20** January 20, 2016 7:24 pm

Hmm. That's a thought. More than one fanfiction writer has had him staying in a rehabilitation center.