The history of England goes back several centuries. This is a fairly conservative country. Here they honor their traditions, preserve them for centuries and rarely betray them. So it happened with the name of the English police, Scotland Yard, which appeared in the early 19th century and has remained unchanged since then.
Few facts from the history of England
Translated from English "Scotland Yard" means "Scottish yard". To understand where this name came from, you need to delve into the history of the centuries, in the Middle Ages.
The King of England Edgar I the Peaceful gave the Scottish ruler Kenneth II a part of the land in the center of London, next to Westminster Palace, on the condition that he build his residence here, which will be considered the territory of Scotland. This was done so that this ruler, annually visiting the residence, showed respect for the English crown.
This continued until 1603, when Queen Elizabeth I died. She was replaced by the Scottish ruler James VI, who became king of England and Scotland. The residence where the kings stayed when they came to England lost its original purpose. The building began to be used for the needs of the government of England and was divided into two parts, "Great Scotland Yard" and "Middle Scotland Yard".
1829 - Scotland Yard was founded
In the 19th century, crime in London was quite high. In 1829, the first police service was created by the Secretary of the Interior of England, Robert Peel. It is located in the former residence of the Scottish kings, which is why it became known as Scotland Yard.
The first years of the police work were very difficult, as there were no specially trained officers. Every resident of the city could search for criminals. If the guilt of the person caught was proved, the person who seized him or reported the offender received a monetary reward. As a result, many have denounced someone as a criminal for profit, revenge, or even adventure.
One of the earliest professionals of Scotland Yard, Inspector Charles Frederick Field, was a friend of the writer Charles Dickens. In Bleak House, Dickens created the character of Detective Buckett, which was inspired by his friend Field, and the word "detective" was firmly entrenched and soon became an international term.
In 1887, the British police occupied more than 10 buildings located close to each other, so it was decided to set aside a special room for them on the Victoria Embankment. The building was named New Scotland Yard. By 1890, the number of police officers had already increased to 13,000.
Recent history of Scotland Yard
The number of divisions of the police service grew, the functions and responsibilities of its officers were increasingly expanded, so the premises occupied no longer met the needs of Scotland Yard. In 1967, the British police received a new building at 10 Broadway. The former premises on the Victoria Embankment became one of its divisions. And the very first building, formerly occupied by the police, was transferred to the British Army.
Scotland Yard has become world famous, including thanks to the authors of the famous detective novels. First of all - Arthur Conan Doyle, who created the image of the great detective Sherlock Holmes, who conducted his investigations in parallel with the British police.
Why does the name Scotland Yard still exist today? This shows respect for their traditions, the historical memory of the British, their gratitude to those people who created one of the best police in the world. Today Scotland Yard employs more than 30,000 people, successfully guarding the safety and peace of the people of London and its suburbs.
