Whitehall
146416
223664383
2008-07-05T04:10:17Z
Lightbot
7178666
Units/dates/other
[[Image:Whitehall, London.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Whitehall, London, looking south towards the [[Palace of Westminster|Houses of Parliament]]. The tower is [[Victoria Tower]].]]
{{otheruses}}
'''Whitehall''' is a road in [[Westminster]] in [[London]], [[England]]. It is the main artery running north from [[Parliament Square]], towards traditional [[Charing Cross]], now at the southern end of [[Trafalgar Square]] and marked by the statue of [[Charles I of England|Charles I]], which is often regarded as the heart of London. Recognised as centre of HM Government, the road is lined with government departments/ministries; "Whitehall" is therefore also frequently used as a [[metonymy|metonym]] for governmental administration, as well as being a geographic name for the surrounding district.
The name is taken from the vast [[Palace of Whitehall]] that used to occupy the area but which was largely destroyed by fire in 1698. Whitehall was originally a wide road that ran up to the front of the palace. [[Trafalgar Square]] was built at its northern extremity in the early 19th century. The southernmost part by Parliament Square is '''Parliament Street''', but there is no longer any obvious distinction between the two on the ground. Combined, the streets cover a total distance of about 0.6 mile (1 km).
[[Image:A View of Whitehall, looking south, 1740.jpg|thumb|right|Whitehall, looking south in 1740: the rebuilt [[St. James's Palace]] and [[Inigo Jones|Jones]]' [[Banqueting House]] (1622) on the left, [[William Kent|Kent]]'s Treasury buildings (1733-37) on the right; the [[Holbein Gate]] was finally demolished in 1759.]]
==History==
Parliament Street was a small side road alongside the palace leading to the [[Palace of Westminster]]. When the palace was destroyed and its ruins demolished, Parliament Street was widened to match Whitehall's width. The present appearance of the street is largely the result of 19th century redevelopment.
The [[Banqueting House]], built in 1622 by [[Inigo Jones]], is the only surviving portion of the former palace. [[Charles I of England|Charles I]] was executed on [[30 January]] [[1649]] on a scaffold erected outside the building, stepping onto it from a first-floor window. Royalists still commemorate the [[regicide]] annually on the anniversary of the execution.
Whitehall and the surrounding area is the administrative centre of the UK government; it is dominated by government buildings, to such an extent that the term is often used, by extension, to refer to the [[British Civil Service]] or the government itself.
The [[Cenotaph]], the principal war memorial of Britain, is in the centre of the road, and is the site of the annual memorial ceremonies on [[Remembrance Sunday]]. In 2005 a [[Monument to the Women of World War II]] was placed just a short distance northwards from the Cenotaph.
The central portion of the street is dominated by military buildings, including the [[Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Defence]], with the former headquarters of the [[British Army]] and [[Royal Navy]], the [[Horse Guards (building)|Horse Guards]] building and the [[Admiralty]], on the opposite side. The road also hosts [[equestrian (sculpture)|equestrian statue]]s of [[George, Duke of Cambridge]], a former Army [[Commander-in-Chief]] and [[Earl Haig]], Commander in Chief of the British Armies in France 1915-1918.
[[Downing Street]] leads off the south-west end of Whitehall, just above Parliament Street. It is closed to the public at both ends by imposing security gates erected in 1989.<ref>John Michael Lee, George William Jones, June Burnham, ''At the Centre of Whitehall: Advising the Prime Minister and Cabinet'', p. 42. St. Martin's Press, 1998. ISBN 0312177305</ref> These have since been supplemented by a further gated barrier around three metres outside the main gates.
[[Scotland Yard]], the headquarters of the [[Metropolitan Police]], was originally located in Great Scotland Yard off the north-eastern end of the street, but relocated to New Scotland Yard on the [[Victoria Embankment]] in 1890.
[[Image:Whitehall sketch map.png|thumb|250px|Whitehall showing the major UK Government buildings.]]
==Government buildings in Whitehall (north to south)==
* [[Admiralty]]
* [[Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs|Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)]]
* [[Old War Office]]
* [[Horse Guards (building)|Horse Guards]]
* [[Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Defence]]
* [[Scotland Office]] ([[Dover House]])
* [[Wales Office]] (Gwydyr House)
* [[Cabinet Office (UK)|Cabinet Office]]
* [[10 Downing Street]]
* [[British Department of Health|Department of Health]]
* [[Department of Work and Pensions]]
* [[Foreign Office]]
* [[HM Treasury]] and [[HM Revenue and Customs]]
==Other notable buildings in Whitehall==
* [[Banqueting House]]
* [[Cenotaph]]
* [[Monument to the Women of World War II]]
* [[Trafalgar Studios]] (formerly the Whitehall Theatre)
==Bibliography==
* ''Whitehall Through The Centuries'' by George S Dugdale (Assistant at the London Museum) with black and white reproductions and plans. A foreword by Sir Edward Bridges <ref> First published by Phoenix House (London) in 1950 with no ISBN </ref>
==External links==
*[http://www.multimap.com/map/photo.cgi?client=public&X=530000&Y=180000&scale=10000&width=500&height=300&gride=&gridn=&lang=&db=&coordsys=gb Aerial photo and map]
*[http://www.buildinghistory.org/Primary/Magalotti/Whitehall.htm Whitehall in 1669, showing the [[Banqueting House]] and Holbein Gateway]
*[http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/TrafalgarStudios.htm History of the Whitehall Theatre built on Whitehall in 1930]
==Gallery==
<gallery>
Image:Whitehall1799.jpg|In 1799 many of the sites now occupied by large government buildings were covered with terraced houses and Parliament Street had not been widened.
Image:Taxi_and_Monuments_on_Whitehall.jpg|A [[London cab]] zooms between two monuments on Whitehall, between [[Horse Guards]] and [[10 Downing Street]]<br/>''[[Portal:London/Showcase picture/April 2008|Wikipedia London Portal showcase picture for April 2008.]]''
</gallery>
==Notes==
{{reflist}}
{{commonscat}}
{{coor title dms|51|30|15|N|0|07|35|W|region:GB_type:landmark}}
[[Category:Districts of London]]
[[Category:Streets in Westminster]]
[[cs:Whitehall]]
[[da:Whitehall]]
[[de:Whitehall]]
[[es:Whitehall]]
[[eo:Whitehall]]
[[fr:Whitehall]]
[[it:Whitehall]]
[[he:וייטהול]]
[[nl:Whitehall]]
[[ja:ホワイトホール (ロンドン)]]
[[no:Whitehall]]
[[pl:Whitehall (Londyn)]]
[[ru:Уайтхолл]]
[[simple:Whitehall]]
[[sk:Whitehall]]
[[sv:Whitehall]]
[[zh:白廳]]