New Scotland Yard, formerly known as the Curtis Green Building and before that, Whitehall Police Station, is a building in

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

Central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning the City of London and several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local gove ...

. Since November 2016, it has been the

Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's London boroughs, 32 boroughs. Its name derives from the location of the original ...

headquarters of the Metropolitan Police (MPS), the fourth such premises since the force's foundation in 1829. It is located on

Victoria Embankment Victoria Embankment is part of the Thames Embankment (the other section is the Chelsea Embankment), a road and river-walk along the north bank of the River Thames in London, England. Built in the 1860s, it runs from the Palace of Westminster to ...

and is situated within the

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London, England. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It ...

Conservation Area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewoo ...

. It neighbours the

Norman Shaw Richard Norman Shaw RA (7 May 1831 – 17 November 1912), also known as Norman Shaw, was a British architect who worked from the 1870s to the 1900s, known for his country houses and for commercial buildings. He is considered to be among the g ...

and

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

buildings, together with Richmond House and

Portcullis House Portcullis House (PCH) is an office building in City of Westminster, Westminster, London, England, that was commissioned in 1992 and opened in 2001 to provide offices for 213 members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and their staff. The pu ...

. The New Scotland Yard building was designed in 1935 by the English architect

William Curtis Green William Curtis Green (16 July 1875 – 26 March 1960) was an English architect, designer and barrister"Quiet ceremony in Archbishop's Palace", ''The Nottingham Evening Post'', 3 August 1935, p. 8. who was based in London for much of his career ...

, who was commissioned to build an annexe to the existing Norman Shaw North building, which had been the Metropolitan Police's headquarters since 1890. Together with the Norman Shaw South building, the three sites were split off in 1967, with the Norman Shaw buildings being taken over by the

British Government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

and the Curtis Green annexe being retained by the police. The earlier annexe, built at the rear of the Norman Shaw South building in 1898 by the Met's surveyor and principal architect, John Dixon Butler, was retained as a police station and used operationally until 1992. In 2013, as a result of an estate reorganisation, the former "New Scotland Yard" on Broadway was sold and the force headquarters was relocated to the Curtis Green Building after extensive renovations. It was renamed

New Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's London boroughs, 32 boroughs. Its name derives from the location of the original ...

in 2016.

History

The stone-fronted, stripped classical building was designed by the English architect

. Construction started in 1935 and finished five years later. The building was constructed as a third building and an extension to the then–New Scotland Yard building,"The Norman Shaw Buildings"
House of Commons fact sheet, p. 4. Retrieved 3 April 2015. which consisted of two buildings that had been completed in 1890 and 1906, which were connected by a bridge. The two structures are now known as the Norman Shaw Buildings. The earlier annexe, built at the rear of the Norman Shaw South building in 1898 by the Met's surveyor and principal architect John Dixon Butler, was retained as a police station and used operationally until 1992. The Curtis Green Building served as part of the Met's three-building headquarters during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and housed the forensics and technology departments. In 1967, the force relocated its main headquarters to 10 Broadway and sold the two Norman Shaw buildings to the British Government. The Curtis Green Building, however, remained a police building and became a sub-HQ for the force's territorial department until 2010. Before its 2015–2016 refurbishment, the building's dimensions were , with a total capable capacity of . In 2013 it was announced by the Met that its headquarters would be relocated from 10 Broadway to the Curtis Green Building as part of the force's drive to reduce costs. The building was redesigned and extended in a multi-million pound redevelopment during 2015–2016. It was renamed "New Scotland Yard"."BAM nabs £30m Scotland Yard HQ contract"
''Construction Enquirer'' website. Retrieved 3 April 2015. The refurbishment contract was awarded to Allford Hall Monaghan Morris and the project was engineered by Arup and the project's costs were managed by Arcadis; construction responsibilities were undertaken by the Royal BAM Group. The MPS retained the "New Scotland Yard" revolving sign and moved it, along with the Crime Museum, to the new site.

References

Sources

External links

*
Metropolitan Police Branches
* Blumberg, Jess

Smithsonian.com, 28 September 2007. {{London landmarks 1935 establishments in England Buildings and structures in the City of Westminster Metropolitan Police buildings Police headquarters Stripped Classical architecture