[Taken from a speech given by Randall Brune at a joint meeting of the MHS and the Syracuse chapter of the Victorian Society in the United States in 1986. Ed]

Millions of admirers of Sherlock Holmes believe that he was a real person. Born in 1854, and in practice with Dr. Watson at 221B Baker Street from 1890 to 1903 when he retired to the Sussex Downs and the keeping of bees. True devotees of the world's greatest detective, in fact, believe that he is still alive on the Downs and to this day is occasionally consulted by Scotland Yard detectives when they find themselves in deep waters. Such faith is not only a matter of individual or even collective eccentricity. On Baker Street today, in the block where 221B once stood, is the headquarters of Great Britain's largest real estate institution, The Abbey National Bank and Loan Society. This firm employs a full time secretary/receptionist to answer the thousands of letters sent to Holmes and Watson eachyear, and to greet the hundreds of pilgrims who annually pay homage to this immortal pair. For the full history click here.