Whitehall
The broad avenues around Whitehall house the powerful political workings of Britain, with some of the most important and prestigious addresses in the land.
Stretching from Westminster to Trafalgar Square, Whitehall is lined with the most important government buildings in Britain, including of course those on Downing Street. Number 10 Downing Street has been the official residence of the Prime Minster since 1732, inside is the Cabinet Room in which policies are decided. Next door at No.11 the Chancellor of the Exchequer lives residing over the nation’s finances. However when Tony Blair became Prime Minister he swapped with the Chancellor to house his family in the bigger premises of No.11.
Situated in the middle of Whitehall is the Cenotaph a solemn obelisk erected in 1920 to those who died in WW1 and a centrepiece for Remembrance Day ceremonies. Just off Whitehall the WW2 Cabinet Rooms used as headquarters by Winston Churchill are now open to the public. This warren of cellars, with rooms protected by layers of concrete 3ft thick, are laid out as they were during Churchill’s highly secretive wartime meetings.
Further down Whitehall is the elegant Banqueting House, designed by Inigo Jones in 1622. This was England’s first Renaissance building, and is noted for the fabulous roof feature in the first floor ceremonial hall, painted by Rubens for Charles I in 1634. Ironically enough, Charles would be executed outside this building 15 years later.
At the end of Whitehall you come to the Horse Guards, the mounted troop of the Household Cavalry. These resplendent guards kitted out in their red coats, sabre in hand and mounted on powerful horses, change twice daily and provide a smaller scale but more close at hand ceremony than that outside Buckingham Palace.
