The building is grade II listed,[1] - the court areas now form a hotel and the station part houses the Bow Street Police Museum.

[2] The first court at Bow Street was established in 1740,[3] when Colonel Sir Thomas de Veil, a Westminster justice, sat as a magistrate in his home at number 4.

In 1876 the Duke of Bedford let a site on the eastern side of Bow Street to the Commissioners of HM Works and Public Buildings for a new combined magistrates' court and police station at an annual rent of £100.

[4][5] Historic England's listing entry describes the architectural style as "dignified, eclectic Graeco-Roman with some slightly Vanbrughian details, rather in the Pennethorne manner.

[6] He added: The chief magistrate has a large addition to his salary, in lieu of the fees taken at the office, which were formerly appropriated to his emolument, but are now carried to the public account.

Police from the station clashed with Commonwealth soldiers in 1919 and striking workers in 1931. Notable prisoners brought into its cells immediately after arrest included Clara Lambert, Cunninghame Graham MP and Bruno Manser, whilst noted officers there included Norwell Roberts, Robert Holmes, Yvonne Fletcher and future commissioners Joseph Simpson and Peter Imbert.

Other cases on the last day included beggars, shoplifters, illegal minicab drivers and a terrorist hearing - the first of its kind—in which a terror suspect was accused of breaching his control order.

In 2008 the Bow Street site was sold to Austrian developers who obtained planning permission for a hotel and police museum, while maintaining the facade of the old court building.