55-466: Pembroke House , located on Whitehall , was the London residence of the earls of Pembroke . It was built by the architect earl Henry Herbert in 1723–24 (under Colen Campbell and latterly his assistant Roger Morris ), on ground leased by the earl in 1717 and 1729 amidst the ruins of the parts of Whitehall Palace that burned down in 1698 (and still covered in its rubble). Its design may have inspired
110-731: A general term for any festival building. This included the Royal Palace of Whitehall , which in turn gave its name to the street. The street is about 0.4 miles (0.64 km) long and runs through the City of Westminster . It is part of the A3212 , a main road in Central London that leads towards Chelsea via the Houses of Parliament and Vauxhall Bridge . It runs south from Trafalgar Square , past numerous government buildings, including
165-544: A grand mansion with coach house, stables, and a view over the Thames, all within the palace network. Charles II commissioned minor works, but made extensive renovations. Like his father, he died at the palace, but from a stroke. James II ordered various changes by Christopher Wren , including a chapel finished in 1687, rebuilding of the queen's apartments ( c. 1688 ), and the queen's private lodgings (1689). The Roman Catholic chapel of James II, constructed during
220-460: A number of bystanders. On 7 February 1991, the IRA launched a mortar attack on 10 Downing Street in an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Prime Minister John Major and his cabinet. By the time the palace was destroyed, separation of crown and state had become important, with Parliament being necessary to control military requirements and pass laws. The government wanted to be some distance from
275-522: A period of fierce anti-Catholicism in England, attracted much criticism and also awe when it was completed in December 1686. The ceiling was adorned with 8,132 pieces of gold leaf, and at the east end of the nave an enormous marble altarpiece (40 ft (12 m) high by 25 ft (7.6 m) wide) designed by Wren and carved by Grinling Gibbons dominated the room. By 1691 the palace had become
330-607: A refurbishment and modernisation programme. Statues and memorials have been built on and around Whitehall, commemorating military victories and leaders. The Cenotaph was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and erected at the southern end in 1919, commemorating victory in World War I and later used as a memorial for both World Wars. It is the main war memorial in Britain and an annual service is held here on Remembrance Sunday , led by
385-590: A row of houses along the street around 1680 leading west from Whitehall. Following a number of terrorist attacks, the road was closed to the public in 1990, when security gates were erected at both ends. On 7 February 1991, the Provisional IRA fired mortars from a van parked in Whitehall towards No. 10 , one of which exploded in the gardens. Additional security measures have been put in place along Whitehall to protect government buildings, following
440-470: A series of bombings by Irish nationalists in 1883, and an explosion from a Fenian terrorist attack on 30 May 1884 blew a hole in Scotland Yard's outer wall and destroyed the neighbouring Rising Sun pub. The headquarters was moved away from Whitehall in 1890. Downing Street leads off the south-west end of Whitehall, just above Parliament Street. It was named after Sir George Downing , who built
495-534: A small town than a single building. The irregularity of the buildings was increased by the penchant of courtiers to build onto their assigned lodgings, either at their own expense or that of the king's. Stephen Fox , Charles II's Clerk of the Green Cloth , obtained permission from the Office of Works in the 1660s to build additions to the three rooms he was assigned. By the time he was finished he had constructed
550-465: A £25 million streetscape project undertaken by Westminster City Council . The project has provided wider pavements and better lighting, along with installing hundreds of concrete and steel security barriers. Richmond House , at No. 79, has held the Department of Health since 1987. The building is scheduled to be a temporary debating chamber from 2025, while the Houses of Parliament undergo
605-460: Is marked with "SMF" and "StMW", and denotes the boundary between St Martin-in-the-Fields and St Margaret's church parish boundaries. During the 19th century, as private leases ran out on residential buildings, ownership reverted to the Crown, which began to use them as public offices. The name "Whitehall" is now used as a metonym to refer to that part of the civil service which is involved in
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#1732788126704660-610: Is one of three purple squares on the British Monopoly board, along with Pall Mall and Northumberland Avenue . All three streets converge at Trafalgar Square. Palace of Whitehall The Palace of Whitehall – also spelled White Hall – at Westminster was the main residence of the English monarchs from 1530 until 1698, when most of its structures, with the notable exception of Inigo Jones 's Banqueting House of 1622, were destroyed by fire. Henry VIII moved
715-706: Is recognised as the centre of the Government of the United Kingdom and is lined with numerous departments and ministries, including the Ministry of Defence , Horse Guards and the Cabinet Office . Consequently, the name "Whitehall" is used as a metonym for the British civil service and government , and as the geographic name for the surrounding area. The Palace of Whitehall previously occupied
770-534: Is the only integral building of the complex now standing, although it has been somewhat modified. Various other parts of the old palace still exist, often incorporated into new buildings in the Whitehall government complex. These include a tower and other parts of the former covered tennis courts from the time of Henry VIII, built into the Old Treasury and Cabinet Office at 70 Whitehall. Beginning in 1938,
825-604: Is the only surviving portion of the palace after it was burned down, and was the first Renaissance building in London. It later became a museum to the Royal United Services Institute and has been opened to the public since 1963. Oliver Cromwell moved to the street in 1647, taking up residence in Wallingford House. Two years later, Charles I was carried through Whitehall on the way to his trial at Westminster Hall . Whitehall itself
880-586: Is to the south of this, on Horse Guards Avenue to the east of Whitehall. Whitehall is also home to six other monuments. From north to south, these are of Prince George, Duke of Cambridge ( Commander-in-Chief of the British Army ), Liberal Party , Liberal Unionist Party and Unionists leader Spencer Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire , Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig (known as the Earl Haig Memorial ), Field Marshal Montgomery (commander of
935-478: The 8th Army , the 21st Army Group and Chief of the Imperial General Staff ), William Slim, 1st Viscount Slim , Commander of the 14th Army and Governor-General of Australia , and Alan Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke , Chief of the Imperial General Staff . The Whitehall Theatre opened in 1930 at the north west end of the street, on a site that had previously been Ye Old Ship Tavern in
990-851: The Banqueting House , some buildings survived in Scotland Yard and some facing the park, along with the so-called Holbein Gate , eventually demolished in 1769. During the fire many works of art were destroyed, probably including Michelangelo 's Cupid , a famous sculpture bought as part of the Gonzaga collections in the seventeenth century. Also lost were Hans Holbein the Younger 's iconic Whitehall Mural , including his Portrait of Henry VIII and Gian Lorenzo Bernini 's marble portrait bust of King Charles I . The Banqueting House
1045-784: The Department for International Development at No. 22, the Department of Energy and Climate Change at No. 55, the Old War Office , the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel at No. 36, the Horse Guards , the Ministry of Defence Main Building , Dover House (containing the Scotland Office ), Gwydyr House (containing the Wales Office ), the Cabinet Office at No. 70,
1100-735: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Government Offices Great George Street ( HM Treasury , HM Revenue and Customs and parts of the Cabinet Office). Scotland Yard , the headquarters of London's Metropolitan Police Service , was originally located in Great Scotland Yard off the north-eastern end of Whitehall. The buildings had been lodgings for the Kings of Scotland, on part of
1155-615: The Serjeant Painters Nicholas Lafore and Anthony Toto . Henry VIII married two of his wives at the palace—Anne Boleyn in 1533 and Jane Seymour in 1536, and died there in January 1547. Anne of Denmark 's secretary, William Fowler wrote Latin verses and anagrams for a sundial in the garden, restored by the orders of James VI and I . In 1611, the palace hosted the first known performance of William Shakespeare 's play The Tempest . In February 1613 it
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#17327881267041210-586: The government of the United Kingdom . The street's central portion is dominated by military buildings, including the Ministry of Defence , with the former headquarters of the British Army and Royal Navy , the Royal United Services Institute , the Horse Guards building and the Admiralty , on the opposite side. Government buildings on Whitehall, from north to south, include The Admiralty Buildings,
1265-404: The 17th century. The revue Whitehall Follies opened in 1942, which drew controversy over its explicit content featuring the stripper and actress Phyllis Dixey . The theatre became known for its series of farces , reviving a tradition on Whitehall that had begun with court jesters at the palace during the 16th century; these included several plays featuring actor-manager Brian Rix throughout
1320-561: The 1950s and '60s, and 1981's satirical Anyone for Denis , written by John Wells and Private Eye editor Richard Ingrams . The venue was Grade II listed in 1996 and renamed the Trafalgar Studios in 2004. Because of its importance as the centre of the British government, several political comedies are based in and around Whitehall. These include the BBC television series Yes Minister and The Thick of It . Whitehall
1375-549: The 9th earl's designs for Marble Hill House . The 9th earl died here in 1733, as did his great-grandson the 11th Earl , in 1827. It was the subject of a major rebuild by the 10th Earl in 1756–59, and in 1762 Lady Hervey wrote that it was "taken for the Duc de Nivernois , the French Ambassador". Gardens were created in 1818 by demolishing the house's riding-house and stables, and the main floor-level terrace (including
1430-628: The King's Surveyor of Works, was ordered expressly by William III to focus manpower on saving the architectural jewel of the complex, the Banqueting House. Wren ordered bricklayers to block up the main window on the building's south side to block the flames from entering. Around 20 buildings were destroyed to create a firebreak , but this did little to inhibit the westward spread of the flames. John Evelyn noted succinctly on 5 January: "Whitehall burnt! nothing but walls and ruins left." Besides
1485-654: The Thames)—a total of about 23 acres (9.3 ha). It was about 710 yards (650 m) from Westminster Abbey . By the 13th century, the Palace of Westminster had become the centre of government in England, and had been the main metropolitan residence of the king since 1049. The surrounding area became a popular and expensive location. Walter de Grey , Archbishop of York , bought a nearby property as his Westminster residence soon after 1240, calling it York Place. King Edward I stayed at York Place on several occasions while work
1540-424: The area and was the residence of Kings Henry VIII through to William III , before it was destroyed by fire in 1698; only the Banqueting House has survived. Whitehall was originally a wide road that led to the gates of the palace; the route to the south was widened in the 18th century, following the destruction of the palace, and the area was largely rebuilt for government offices. As well as government buildings,
1595-475: The company of Anne Boleyn . The name 'Whitehall' was first recorded in 1532; it had its origins in the white stone used for the buildings. King Henry VIII hired the Flemish artist Anton van den Wyngaerde to redesign York Place, and he extended it during his lifetime. Inspired by Richmond Palace , he included sporting facilities, with a bowling green , indoor real tennis court , a pit for cock fighting (on
1650-466: The east of the road, was originally named York Palace, but was renamed during the reign of Henry VIII . The palace was redesigned in 1531–32 and became the King's main residence later in the decade. He married Anne Boleyn here in 1533, followed by Jane Seymour in 1536, and died at the palace in 1547. Charles I owned an extensive art collection at the palace and several of William Shakespeare 's plays had their first performances here. It ceased to be
1705-429: The east side of the site was redeveloped with the building now housing the Ministry of Defence (MOD), now known as the Ministry of Defence Main Building . An undercroft from Wolsey 's Great Chamber, now known as Henry VIII's Wine Cellar, a fine example of a Tudor brick-vaulted roof some 70 feet (21 m) long and 30 feet (9 m) wide, was found to interfere not just with the plan for the new building but also with
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1760-532: The expanding Palace of Versailles , which was to reach 2,400 rooms. At its most expansive, the palace extended over much of the area bordered by Northumberland Avenue in the north; to Downing Street and nearly to Derby Gate in the south; and from roughly the elevations of the current buildings facing Horse Guards Road in the west, to the then banks of the River Thames in the east (the construction of Victoria Embankment has since reclaimed more land from
1815-434: The four corners of the earth, and the four elements. The forty rooms of the lodgings provided for King James's favourite Robert Carr, 1st Earl of Somerset included a picture gallery in a converted bowling alley. James VI and I made significant changes to the buildings, notably the construction in 1622 of a new Banqueting House built to a design by Inigo Jones to replace a series of previous banqueting houses dating from
1870-742: The largest and most complex in Europe . On 10 April a fire broke out in the much-renovated apartment previously used by the Duchess of Portsmouth , damaging the older palace structures, though apparently not the state apartments . This actually gave a greater cohesiveness to the remaining complex. At the end of 1694 Mary II died in Kensington Palace of smallpox , and on the following 24 January lay in state at Whitehall; William and Mary had avoided Whitehall in favour of their palace at Kensington. A second fire on 4 January 1698 destroyed most of
1925-566: The monarch, and the buildings around Whitehall, physically separated from St James's Palace by St James's Park , seemed to be a good place for ministers to work. The Horse Guards building was designed by William Kent , and built during the 1750s on a former tiltyard site, replacing an earlier guard-house erected during the Civil War. The building includes an archway for coach traffic and two pedestrian arches that provide access between Whitehall and Horse Guards Parade . The central archway
1980-468: The north end, and Westminster at the south. Numerous London bus routes run along Whitehall, including 12, 24, 88, 159 and 453. There has been a route connecting Charing Cross to Westminster since the Middle Ages ; the 12th-century historian William Fitzstephen described it as "a continued suburb, mingled with large and beautiful gardens, and orchards belonging to the citizens". The name Whitehall
2035-462: The old War Office building, Horse Guards , the Ministry of Defence , the Cabinet Office , and the Department of Health . It ends at the Cenotaph , the road ahead being Parliament Street. Great Scotland Yard and Horse Guards Avenue branch off to the east, while Downing Street branches off to the west at the southern section of the street. The nearest tube stations are Charing Cross at
2090-565: The old Palace of Whitehall's grounds; by the 19th century, Little and Middle Scotland Yard had been merged into Whitehall Place, leaving only Great Scotland Yard. No. 4 Whitehall Place had become vacant by the 1820s, which allowed Sir Robert Peel to use it as the main headquarters when forming the police in 1829. It was formally named the Metropolitan Police Office, but became quickly known as Great Scotland Yard, and eventually Scotland Yard. The buildings were damaged in
2145-496: The plague, while Samuel Pepys remarked in his diary on 29 June, "By water to Whitehall, where the Court is full of waggons and people ready to go out of town. This end of town every day grows very bad with plague". By the 18th century, traffic was struggling along the narrow streets south of Holbein Gate, which led to King Street Gate being demolished in 1723. Holbein Gate, in turn, was demolished in 1759. Meanwhile, Parliament Street
2200-508: The portion over the water-gate) was retained. The lease was repeatedly renewed (passing to the Earl of Harrington ) until in or around 1853, when the land and house became crown freehold (housing the Ministry of Transport c.1930, and later parts of what would become the Ministry of Defence ). It was demolished to build the Ministry of Defence main building in 1938. Several buildings nearby were also demolished to permit this development. Some of
2255-562: The proposed route for Horse Guards Avenue . Following a request from Queen Mary in 1938 and a promise in Parliament, provision was made for the preservation of the cellar. Accordingly, it was encased in steel and concrete and relocated 9 feet (3 m) to the west and nearly 19 feet (6 m) deeper in 1949, when construction resumed on the site after the Second World War. This was carried out without any significant damage to
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2310-572: The reigning monarch and leading politicians. In 2005, a national Monument to the Women of World War II was erected a short distance north of the Cenotaph in the middle of the Whitehall carriageway. The Royal Tank Regiment Memorial is at the north east end of Whitehall, where Whitehall Court meets Whitehall Place. Erected in 2000, it commemorates the use of tanks in both World Wars and depicts five World War II tank crew members. The Gurkha Memorial
2365-423: The remaining residential and government buildings. It was started inadvertently by a servant in an upper room who had hung wet linen around a burning charcoal brazier to dry. The linen caught fire and the flames quickly spread throughout the palace complex, raging for 15 hours before firefighters could extinguish it. The following day, the wind picked up and re-ignited the fire farther north. Christopher Wren, then
2420-540: The rooms from Pembroke House survive as 'Historic Rooms' within the MOD building. 51°30′15″N 0°07′29″W / 51.5042°N 0.1247°W / 51.5042; -0.1247 Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster , Central London , England. The road forms the first part of the A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea . It is the main thoroughfare running south from Trafalgar Square towards Parliament Square . The street
2475-399: The royal residence after 1689, when William III moved to Kensington Palace for his health to escape what had become dense urban surroundings. The palace was damaged by fire in 1691, following which the front entrance was redesigned by Sir Christopher Wren . In 1698, most of the vast palace burned to the ground accidentally after a fire started by a careless washerwoman. Wallingford House
2530-525: The royal residence to White Hall after the old royal apartments at the nearby Palace of Westminster were themselves destroyed by fire. Although the Whitehall palace has not survived, the area where it was located is still called Whitehall and has remained a centre of the British government . White Hall was at one time the largest palace in Europe, with more than 1,500 rooms, before itself being overtaken by
2585-498: The site of the Cabinet Office, 70 Whitehall ) and a tiltyard for jousting (now the site of Horse Guards Parade ). It is estimated that more than £ 30,000 (several million at present-day value) were spent during the 1540s, half as much again as the construction of the entire Bridewell Palace . Henry VIII decorated his gardens with carved heraldic beasts , including unicorns, set on wooden posts. The posts were painted by
2640-522: The street is known for its memorial statues and monuments, including the UK's primary war memorial, the Cenotaph . South of the Cenotaph the thoroughfare becomes Parliament Street. The Whitehall Theatre (now the Trafalgar Studios ) was formerly associated with a series of farces . The name Whitehall was used for several buildings in the Tudor period . It either referred to a building made of light stone, or as
2695-474: The time of Elizabeth I . Its decoration was finished in 1634 with the completion of a ceiling by Peter Paul Rubens , commissioned by Charles I (who was to be executed in front of the building in 1649). By 1650 Whitehall Palace was the largest complex of secular buildings in England, with more than 1,500 rooms. Its layout was irregular, and its constituent parts were of many different sizes and in several different architectural styles, making it look more like
2750-599: Was a side road alongside the palace, leading to the Palace of Westminster . After the Palace of Whitehall was destroyed, Parliament Street was widened to match Whitehall's width. The present appearance of the street dates from 1899 after a group of houses between Downing Street and Great George Street were destroyed. On 8 March 1973, the IRA detonated a bomb in front of the Ministry of Agriculture building in Whitehall, injuring
2805-484: Was a wide street and had sufficient space for a scaffold to be erected for the King's execution at Banqueting House. He made a brief speech there before being beheaded. Cromwell died at the Palace of Whitehall in 1658. During the Great Plague of London in 1665, people boarded coaches at Whitehall, then at the edge of urban London, in an attempt to escape. The King and court temporarily moved to Oxford to avoid
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#17327881267042860-550: Was carried out at Westminster, and enlarged it to accommodate his entourage. York Place was rebuilt during the 15th century and was expanded so much by Cardinal Wolsey that it was rivalled by only Lambeth Palace as the greatest house in the capital city, the King's palaces included. Consequently, when King Henry VIII removed the cardinal from power in 1530, he acquired York Place to replace Westminster (the royal residential, or 'privy', area of which had been gutted by fire in 1512) as his main residence, inspecting its possessions in
2915-428: Was constructed in 1572 by William Knollys, 1st Earl of Banbury along the western edge of Whitehall. The Duke of Buckingham bought the house in 1622, and it was subsequently used by Charles I. During the reign of William III, it was bought for the Admiralty . The Old Admiralty Buildings now sit on the house's site. Banqueting House was built as an extension to the Palace of Whitehall in 1622 by Inigo Jones . It
2970-402: Was originally only used for the section of road between Charing Cross and Holbein Gate ; beyond this it was known as The Street as far as King Street Gate , then King Street thereafter. It had become a residential street by the 16th century, and had become a popular place to live by the 17th, with residents including Lord Howard of Effingham and Edmund Spenser . The Palace of Whitehall, to
3025-468: Was the venue for the wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Frederick V of the Palatinate . Anne of Denmark's apartments were painted in "antique work" by John de Critz and the fireplaces carved by Maximilian Colt . A withdrawing chamber for James VI and I featured a wind dial or compass connected to a weather vane on the roof, and the room was painted by John de Critz with a scheme of the four winds,
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