Admiralty Arch
Admiralty Arch is a large office building in London which incorporates an archway providing road and pedestrian access between The Mall, which extends to the South-West, and Trafalgar Square to the North-East. It was designed by Sir Aston Webb, constructed by John Mowlem & Co and completed in 1912. It adjoins the Old Admiralty Building, hence the name.
The building was commissioned by King Edward VII in memory of his mother Queen Victoria, although he did not live to see its completion. A Latin inscription along the top reads:
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: VICTORIÆ : REGINÆ : CIVES : GRATISSIMI : MDCCCCX : |
(In the tenth year of King Edward VII, to Queen Victoria, from most grateful citizens, 1910)
The sculptural figures of Navigation and Gunnery were designed by the English sculptor Thomas Brock.
Admiralty Arch is a Grade I listed building. In 2000, the Cabinet Office moved into offices in the building, while maintaining its headquarters on Whitehall. It was also home to the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit and the Social Exclusion Task Force.[1] In 2011, as part of the government's austerity programme, the building became vacant and was put up for sale[2] for a reported 75 million pounds.
[edit] Nose
Another famous feature of Admiralty Arch is its "nose". On the inside wall of the northernmost arch there is a small protrusion the size and shape of a human nose. It was placed there by artist Rick Buckley in 1997 as part of a campaign against the "Big Brother" society. The nose is at a height of about seven feet, and sits at waist height for anyone riding through the arch on a horse. Prior to Mr Buckley being unmasked by the London Evening Standard, one urban myth grew that the nose is there in honour of the Duke of Wellington, who was known for having a particularly large nose.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ Note By The Minister For The Cabinet Office On The Cabinet Office Accommodation Project, January 1999, http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199899/cmselect/cmpubadm/82/8120815.htm
- ^ Graham Ruddick (03 November 2011), "London's Admiralty Arch could become a hotel under Government plans", Daily Telegraph, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/constructionandproperty/8865660/Londons-Admiralty-Arch-could-become-a-hotel-under-Government-plans.html
- ^ Ross Lydall (13 Oct 2011), "That's blown it! Man who put noses on London landmarks is unmasked", Evening Standard, http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23997631-thats-blown-it-man-who-put-noses-on-london-landmarks-is-unmasked.do
[edit] Gallery
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Admiralty Arch |
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Walking to Trafalgar Square
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Statue of Captain James Cook at Admiralty Arch
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Picture of the nose in the northernmost arch
Coordinates: 51°30′24.33″N 00°07′43.29″W / 51.5067583°N 0.1286917°W
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- Buildings and structures completed in 1912
- Buildings and structures in Westminster
- Edwardian architecture
- Grade I listed buildings in London
- Grade I listed government buildings
- Grade I listed monuments and memorials
- Grade I listed office buildings
- Monuments and memorials in London
- National government buildings in London
- Trafalgar Square
- Triumphal arches in the United Kingdom
- Visitor attractions in Westminster
