Admiralty House in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

building facing

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. 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 Sq ...

, currently used for

UK government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_est ...

functions and as ministerial flats. It is a Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

Description

Admiralty House is a four-storey building of yellow brick. The front has a symmetrical facade of three broad bays and one additional small bay at the southern end. The rear facade is of five bays and faces

Horse Guards Parade Horse Guards Parade is a large parade ground off Whitehall in central London (at grid reference ). It is the site of the annual ceremonies of Trooping the Colour, which commemorates the monarch's official birthday, and the Beating Retreat. H ...

, with a basement-level exit under the corner of the Old Admiralty Building. The front of the house faces

. It is accessed from the older Ripley Building, to which it is connected.

History

Admiralty House was constructed on the site of two seventeenth century houses; Walsingham House, the London residence of Lady Walsingham, and Pickering House, residence of Sir Gilbert Pickering. Admiralty House was designed by

Samuel Pepys Cockerell Samuel Pepys Cockerell (1753–1827) was an English architect. He was a son of John Cockerell, of Bishop's Hull, Somerset, and the elder brother of Sir Charles Cockerell, 1st Baronet, for whom he designed the house he is best known for, Sezinc ...

, a protégé of

Sir Robert Taylor Sir Robert Taylor (1714–1788) was an English architect and sculptor who worked in London and the south of England. Early life Born at Woodford, Essex, Taylor followed in his father's footsteps and started working as a stonemason and sculptor ...

, and opened in 1788. Built at the request of Admiral of the Fleet

Viscount Howe A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...

First Lord of the Admiralty The First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible for the di ...

, in 1782–83 for "a few small rooms of my own", it was the official residence of

until 1964, and has also been home to several

British Prime Ministers The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the principal minister of the crown of His Majesty's Government, and the head of the British Cabinet. There is no specific date for when the office of prime minister first appeared, as the role was no ...

when 10 Downing Street was being renovated.

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

lived in the house while serving as First Lord of the Admiralty for two terms, 1911–15 and 1939–40. It now contains government function rooms and three ministerial flats.Parliament — Ministerial Residences (21 July 2016,PDF)
from the UK Parliament website Admiralty House - Music Room 2

References

External links

Admiralty House
entry from the ''

Survey of London The Survey of London is a research project to produce a comprehensive architectural survey of central London and its suburbs, or the area formerly administered by the London County Council. It was founded in 1894 by Charles Robert Ashbee, an A ...

'' online, includin
plans of each floor as of 1935
{{Authority control National government buildings in London Official residences in the United Kingdom Grade I listed buildings in the City of Westminster Grade I listed government buildings Houses completed in 1788 Houses in the City of Westminster Robert Taylor buildings 1788 establishments in Great Britain Prime ministerial homes in the United Kingdom