Police notebooks

As part of the research into Booth's Inquiry, the investigators accompanied police around their beats in London. The reports of these walks, which took place throughout 1898-99, are known as the "police notebooks" and contain descriptions and characterisations of London streets, their inhabitants and the industry that took place there. All these notebooks have been digitised and can be browsed via this page. You can also search the notebooks.

Browse walks by district

Select a London district from the drop-down menu to see walks for that area. The districts conform to the organisation of the County of London, which was in existence between 1889 and 1965.

Browse by notebook