A network of street children — “Irregulars” — employed by Sherlock Holmes as intelligence-gatherers and street surveillance. Named for their base of operations near 221B Baker Street.
Description
A dozen or more ragged London street urchins, led by a boy named Wiggins (the most frequently mentioned by name). Holmes pays them a shilling a day plus expenses, with a guinea to whoever finds what he wants.
“There’s more work to be got out of one of those little beggars than out of a dozen of the force.” — Holmes, A Study in Scarlet
Role
The Irregulars can go anywhere in London unnoticed — they are invisible to respectable society in ways that Holmes and Watson are not. Holmes uses them primarily to:
- Shadow individuals
- Search for specific objects, people, or vehicles
- Report the movements of suspects
Key appearance in ingested texts
The Sign of the Four: Wiggins leads the Irregulars in searching the Thames waterfront for the Aurora (Jonathan Small’s escape launch). They eventually locate it, leading to the climactic chase.
Also referenced in The Adventures (e.g., in SCAN, Holmes uses a street Arab as a messenger).
Cultural legacy
The Baker Street Irregulars became the name of the most prominent Sherlockian society (founded 1934 in New York by Christopher Morley), reflecting their status as the Canon’s most charming recurring element.