Great Scotland Yard

Our first real stop on the tour was Scotland Yard, headquarters to the world famous police force of England. Apparently, the Scotland Yard building was used as the Ministry of Magic building in the Harry Potter movies.
Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), the territorial police force responsible for policing most of London.
The name derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became the public entrance to the police station, and over time the street and the Metropolitan Police became synonymous. The New York Times wrote in 1964 that just as Wall Street gave its name to New York's financial district, Scotland Yard became the name for police activity in London.Read more