Government Offices Great George Street
Encyclopedia
Westminster
Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...
between Horse Guards Road, Parliament Street
Parliament Street
Parliament Street is the name of several places including:*Parliament Street, Exeter, one of the world's narrowest streets in Exeter, England...
, King Charles Street and Parliament Square
Parliament Square
Parliament Square is a square outside the northwest end of the Palace of Westminster in London. It features a large open green area in the middle, with a group of trees to its west. It contains statues of famous statesmen and is the scene of rallies and protests, as well as being a tourist...
.
Description
The building is occupied by HM TreasuryHM Treasury
HM Treasury, in full Her Majesty's Treasury, informally The Treasury, is the United Kingdom government department responsible for developing and executing the British government's public finance policy and economic policy...
and parts of the Cabinet Office
Cabinet Office
The Cabinet Office is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for supporting the Prime Minister and Cabinet of the United Kingdom....
at the Horse Guards Road end. This part of the building is known as '1 Horse Guards Road'.
The headquarters of HM Revenue and Customs occupy the Parliament Street
Parliament Street
Parliament Street is the name of several places including:*Parliament Street, Exeter, one of the world's narrowest streets in Exeter, England...
end, referred to as '100 Parliament Street'.
The basement houses the Cabinet War Rooms, a branch of the Imperial War Museum
Imperial War Museum
Imperial War Museum is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. The museum was founded during the First World War in 1917 and intended as a record of the war effort and sacrifice of Britain and her Empire...
.
GOGGS is a grade II* listed building, meaning it is of "exceptional interest and of outstanding importance". It was described by the Victorian Society as an early monument of the Edwardian Baroque Revival.
History
GOGGS was designed by John Brydon following a competition. Construction took place in two phases: the West end was completed in 1908 and the East end was completed in 1917. It was originally built as offices for Board of EducationBoard of education
A board of education or a school board or school committee is the title of the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or higher administrative level....
, the Local Government Board
Local Government Board
The Local Government Board was a British Government supervisory body overseeing local administration in England and Wales from 1871 to 1919.The LGB was created by the Local Government Board Act 1871 The Local Government Board (LGB) was a British Government supervisory body overseeing local...
and the local Ministry of Works Office: HM Treasury moved in the building in 1940. A major refurbishment of the building was completed under a PFI
Private Finance Initiative
The private finance initiative is a way of creating "public–private partnerships" by funding public infrastructure projects with private capital...
contract by Bovis Lend Lease
Bovis Lend Lease
Lend Lease Project Management & Construction is the international project management and construction division of Lend Lease Group.-History:...
in 2004.
Recent appearances
An aerial shot of the building is used in the TV series SpooksSpooks
Spooks is a British television drama series that originally aired on BBC One from 13 May 2002 – 23 October 2011, consisting of 10 series. The title is a popular colloquialism for spies, as the series follows the work of a group of MI5 officers based at the service's Thames House headquarters, in a...
to accompany a sub-title portraying it as The Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
- therefore serving as stand-in to match the distinctly period appearance of the fictitious Home Office accommodation interiors the series uses, rather than the far more modern real Home Office HQ building.