Scotland Yard
Preserved but no longer current.
The headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, whence all public orders to the force proceed. The original Scotland Yard, occupied by the Police from 1829-90, was a short street near Trafalgar Square, so called from a palace on the spot, given by King Edgar (about 970) to Kenneth II of Scotland when he came to London to pay homage, and subsequently used by the Scottish kings when visiting England.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Scotland Yard” mean?
The headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, whence all public orders to the force proceed. The original Scotland Yard, occupied by the Police from 1829-90, was a short street near Trafalgar Square, so called from a palace on the spot, given by King Edgar (about 970) to Kenneth II of Scotland when he came to London to pay homage, and subsequently used by the Scottish kings when visiting England.
Is “Scotland Yard” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.