TfL’s Lost Property Office is to move to a new home

The famous repository of forgotten umbrellas and teddy bears, the Lost Property office is moving home after nearly 90 years in its current home.

Based in Baker Street since 1933, the vast collection of lost ephemera has become almost as famous as the roundel and moquette, but all things come to an end, and the office is moving.

(c) TfL

The move is needed to cope with surging demand — as in surging levels of forgetfulness. On average over 900 items are handed in every day on London’s transport network, and that’s just the ones handed in – the real number of lost items is bound to be much higher.

The Lost Property office will be moving to South Kensington, to a side street around the back of the tube station — where coincidentally London Underground currently owns a large rather grand looking office block.

The new site will start accepting lost items handed in to transport staff from later this month, and the full relocation is expected to be completed by late October.

It’ll take a while as there’s a lot of lost umbrellas to move.

(c) TfL

If you lose an item, the first port of call is the relevant station or bus garage in the first instance and then log a claim for their property via the TfL website if the item is still lost.

It can take up to a week for property to be sent to the office and processed, and then the owner, if they can be identified will be notified.

The Lost Property Office keeps items for up to three months, and the are either donated to charities including The Salvation Army, The British Red Cross and Scope, or recycled, sold or disposed of. Any revenue generated from unclaimed items contributes towards the cost of running the Lost Property Office.

(c) TfL