Admiralty Arch
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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 southwest, and Trafalgar Square to the northeast. It was designed by Sir Aston Webb. 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:
: ANNO : DECIMO : EDWARDI : SEPTIMI : REGIS :
: VICTORIÆ : REGINÆ : CIVES : GRATISSIMI : MDCCCCX :
(In the tenth year of King Edward VII, to Queen Victoria, from most grateful citizens, 1910)
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 is also home to the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit.[1]
[edit] Trivia
- An infamous 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. There is little or no public information as to why it is there.
The nose is about seven feet high, and would sit at waist high for anyone riding through the arch on a horse. Tradition holds that it is Napoleon's nose. It was to be rubbed by anyone riding through the arch.
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Categories: 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 | United Kingdom building and structure stubs
