The Admiralty complex in 1794. The colours indicate departments or residences for the several Lords of the Admiralty. The pale coloured extension behind the small courtyard, on the left is Admiralty House.

The Admiralty buildings complex lies between Whitehall, Horse Guards Parade and The Mall and includes five inter-connected buildings.

Since the Admiralty no longer exists as a department, these buildings are now used by separate government departments:

The Admiralty

See also: Admiralty (United Kingdom)

The oldest building was long known simply as The Admiralty; it is now known officially as the Ripley Building,[1] a three-storey U-shaped brick building designed by Thomas Ripley and completed in 1726. Alexander Pope implied that the architecture is rather dull, lacking either the vigour of the Baroque style, fading from fashion at the time, or the austere grandeur of the Palladian style just coming into vogue. It is mainly notable for being perhaps the first purpose-built office building in Great Britain. It contained the Admiralty board room, which is still used by the Admiralty Board, other state rooms, offices and apartments for the Lords of the Admiralty. Robert Adam designed the screen, which was added to the entrance front in 1788. In January 1806, the body of Lord Nelson lay in the building on the night preceding his state funeral.[2] The Ripley Building is currently occupied by the International Development section of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.[3]

  • The Old Admiralty (Ripley Building) in 1760, before the addition of the Adam screen
    The Old Admiralty (Ripley Building) in 1760, before the addition of the Adam screen
  • The Ripley Building in 2018
    The Ripley Building in 2018

Admiralty House

Admiralty House is a moderately proportioned mansion to the south of the Ripley Building, designed by Samuel Pepys Cockerell and built in the late 18th century as the residence of the First Lord of the Admiralty in 1788.[4] Winston Churchill was one of its occupants in 1911–1915 and 1939–1940. It lacks its own entrance from Whitehall and is entered through the Ripley Courtyard or Ripley Building.[4] It is a three-storey building in yellow brick with neoclassical interiors.[5] The ground floor comprises meeting rooms for the Cabinet Office and the upper floors are three ministerial residences.[6]

Admiralty House, Hong Kong in 1935

There was formerly also an Admiralty House located at, or near to, the main base and dockyard in each station of the Royal Navy for use of the Commander-in-Chief. Each property was designated as the Admiralty House named for its location, but often possessed a property name (similarly to stone frigates being commissioned with a name distinct from their functional designations, such as HMS Malabar, functionally Her Majesty's Naval Base, Bermuda, which closed in 1995).[7]

The Commander-in-Chief of the station used the Admiralty House when based ashore, but was otherwise based afloat aboard the flagship of the squadron. There may have been more than one Admiralty House per station, as with the North America Station (later the North America and West Indies Station, and finally the America and West Indies Station), the squadron of which was for a time based in Bermuda during the winter months and Halifax, Nova Scotia, during the summers, before Bermuda became the year-round headquarters. Former Admiralty Houses would cease to have that function, either being disposed of (if having been on Admiralty property) or re-purposed as separate stations were merged, such as the Jamaica Station being merged with the North America Station to create the North America and West Indies Station.[8]

Other Admiralty Houses or former Admiralty Houses include:

There are two former naval properties today known as Admiralty House, though it is unclear whether they were ever so designated by the Admiralty, or ever served that function:

Admiralty Extension

The Admiralty Extension (which is also one of the two buildings which are sometimes referred to as the "Old Admiralty") dates from the turn of the 20th century.

This is the largest of the Admiralty Buildings.[22] It was begun in the late 19th century and redesigned while the construction was in progress to accommodate the extra offices needed by the naval arms race with the German Empire. It is a red brick building with white stone, detailing in the Queen Anne style with French influences. It has been used by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office from the 1960s to 2016. The Department for Education planned to move into the building in September 2017 following the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's decision to leave the building and consolidate its London staff into one building on King Charles Street. A change of contractor (BAM was replaced by Willmott Dixon) then delayed consolidation of the Department for Education to autumn 2018.[23] In 2021, the building became the home of the Department for International Trade.[24]

Admiralty Arch

Admiralty Arch

Admiralty Arch is linked to the Old Admiralty Building by a bridge and is part of the ceremonial route from Trafalgar Square to Buckingham Palace. In 2012, HM Government sold the building on a 125-year lease for £60m for a proposed redevelopment into a Waldorf Astoria luxury hotel and four apartments.[25]

The Admiralty Citadel

Bomb proof citadel constructed 1940 for Admiralty headquarters

The Admiralty Citadel is a squat, windowless Second World War fortress north west of Horse Guards Parade, now covered in ivy.[26]

Further reading

References

  1. ^ Philip Carey. Central Westminster London Photo Routes: Charing Cross to The Houses of Parliament. Philip Carey. p. 254. GGKEY:4R61C7KPJYX. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  2. ^ Adkin, Mark (2005). The Trafalgar Companion: The Complete Guide to History’s Most Famous Sea Battle and the Life of Admiral Lord Nelson. London: Aurum Press Ltd. p. 548. ISBN 978-1845130183.
  3. ^ "The Architecture of British Naval Power in Whitehall". Essential London. 4 March 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  4. ^ a b Historic England. "Grade I (1267114)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 5 June 2009.
  5. ^ "Open House – Going inside Admiralty House". Ian Mansfield. ISSN 2753-7846. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  6. ^ Parliament — Ministerial Residences (21 July 2016,PDF) from the UK Parliament website
  7. ^ Tucker, Spencer C. (2012). The Encyclopedia Of the War Of 1812: A Political, Social, and Military History. ABC-CLIO. p. 59. ISBN 978-1851099573.
  8. ^ Cundall, Frank (1915). "Historic Jamaica : With fifty-two illustrations". archive.org. London : Published for the Institute of Jamaica by the West India Committee, p. xx.
  9. ^ Worth, Margaret (9 January 2022). "The History of Admiralty House". The Bermudian. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  10. ^ "Nelson's Dockyard Museum". Paradise Islands. www.paradise-islands.org/. Retrieved 2021-08-08. The Nelson's Dockyard Museum is housed on the ground floor of the original Naval Officer's House (Admiral's House). The building is Victorian dating back to 1855.
  11. ^ Admiralty House National Historic Site of Canada. Canadian Register of Historic Places. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
  12. ^ "Marble Hall Gatekeeper's Lodge (1901– )". Gwulo. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  13. ^ "Admiralty House undergoing restoration with a $4.3m investment - TVM News". TVM English. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
  14. ^ Historic England, "Hamoze House and attached railings (1386257)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 12 July 2019
  15. ^ Historic England. "Admiralty House, Plymouth (1386256)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
  16. ^ "Admiralty Houses". Jamaica National Heritage Trust. Jamaica National Heritage Trust. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
  17. ^ "Sembawang Residents to Embrace Sport, Health, Food, Greenery and Heritage at Bukit Canberra". Sports Singapore (Press Release). 1 July 2018. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  18. ^ "Admiralty House Garden and Fortifications (CHL) (Place ID 105399)". Australian Heritage Database. Australian Government. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
  19. ^ "Admiralty House - 200 years of naval tradition". Sunday Observer. 16 February 2020. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
  20. ^ "Admiralty House, Mount Pearl". The Trident (Southcott ed.). 1998: 2–3.
  21. ^ "Admirable homes in the Sun". The Jewish Chronicle. London. 2009-04-03. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
  22. ^ Philip Carey. Central Westminster London Photo Routes: Charing Cross to The Houses of Parliament. Philip Carey. p. 103. GGKEY:4R61C7KPJYX. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  23. ^ "Willmott Dixon wins Old Admirality [sic] Building refurb". constructionenquirer.com.
  24. ^ Fisher, Liz (6 April 2021). "Licence to trade: Liz Truss will use Ian Fleming's old office to strike post-Brexit deals". The Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 8 June 2021. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  25. ^ Batty, David (24 October 2012). "This article is more than 8 years old London landmark Admiralty Arch sold to become luxury hotel". Guardian Media Group. The Guardian. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  26. ^ Derelict London by Paul Talling, page 190, publ. 2008 by Random House, ISBN 978-1-905211-43-2

External links

Department of Admiralty
His Majesty's Naval Service
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