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The creator of the world’s most famous detective has taken his proper place in the history of Plymouth with the unveiling of a plaque at his former home.

Author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle spent a little-known stint in the city as he started his career as a doctor.

He was only in Plymouth for a matter of months but the city and its surroundings made a lasting impression and influenced his later stories.

Now his stay in the city has been properly marked with a blue plaque on the grand waterfront house where he resided in 1882.

Residents of 6 Elliot Terrace welcomed Sherlock Holmes enthusiast from across the country to officially launch the plaque.

It reads: “Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 1859-1930. Doctor, author and creator of Sherlock Holmes, in practice at 1 Durnford Street in 1882, lodged here with Dr Budd, his medical partner.”

(Image: peterozycki.com)

Fans of the author said the plaque is unusual with more plaques dedicated to his fictional creation than the man himself.

The creators of the latest Sherlock Holmes television programmes, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, have given the character a new lease of life verging on superstar status.

Pam Ward, a resident in one of the flats that bears the plaque, joked to supporters outside that she had tried to get Cumberbatch or former Holmes actor Jeremy Brett, to the ceremony.

She said: “His stay down here was particularly short. We are not even sure how long it was. It was also very stormy. I think it was particularly significant because it was Conan Doyle’s first medical job after Edinburgh.

“We tried to get Cumberbatch and Jeremy Brett here but we were not terribly successful.”

The Scotsman studied medicine in his nation’s capital before joining the practice of his classmate George Budd in Plymouth.

Mrs Ward said: “Budd was certainly a very good businessman. He offered free consultations which were something of a loss leader. He then got patients to buy concoctions made by his wife, some say here, and others say at his practice at 1 Durnford Street.

“The relationship between Budd and Conan Doyle fell apart because Conan Doyle’s mother did not approve of their liaison.”

Conan Doyle left very quickly for Southsea in Hampshire and spent almost 30 years living in Crowborough in Sussex.

A series of plaques were erected over time at the old practice in Durnford Street, in Stonehouse, but these have been lost to time. A Chinese supermarket now stands on the site.

Mrs Ward said she became aware of the connection to her home of five years when a neighbour showed her a book by author Brian Pugh – a guest at the plaque unveiling.

She had to apply for planning permission from the city council on the side of the Grade II listed building, as well as win approval from English Heritage.

Mrs Ward said: “We thought it important to encourage those connections with Plymouth.”

Mr Pugh, from Lewes in Sussex, officially unveiled the plaque, to coincide with Heritage Open Days initiative.

He added that it was not recorded what the Scotsman thought of Plymouth, though he was pretty impressed with his home on the Hoe.

(Image: Lucy Davies)

The doctor described the “imposing sweep of steps” and “pinnacles and a flagstaff at the top”.

Mr Pugh said: “There is still one plaque outstanding in Plymouth and that is at Durnford Street.”

Sherlock Holmes fans came from as far as the capital to see the unveiling.

Robert Graham, a council member of the Sherlock Holmes Society of London, said its members “suspended belief” and treated Holmes and his sidekick Dr Watson as real people.

He added: “It is nice to trace where Arthur Conan Doyle and see how that inspired his fiction. Most of the plaques are in fact dedicated to Sherlock Holmes rather than the man who created him.”

Among the 56 short stories written by the doctor-turned-author is The Adventure of the Devil’s Foot set in Cornwall. And one of the most famous tales is The Hound of the Baskervilles about a supernatural beast in the wilds of Dartmoor.

But Mr Graham said that George Budd’s character was likely to have inspired a series of quirky doctors in his former housemate’s works.

The plaque is likely to provide interest to passers-by and Holmes enthusiasts alike.

Mrs Ward said that many fans had asked her over the years if it was really the former author’s home.