Admiralty Arch is a large office building in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 which incorporates an archway providing road and pedestrian

Pedestrian

A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, whether walking or running. In some communities, those traveling using roller skates or skateboards are also considered to be pedestrians. In modern times, the term mostly refers to someone walking on a road or footpath, but this was not the case...

 access between The Mall

The Mall (London)

The Mall in central London is the road running from Buckingham Palace at its western end to Admiralty Arch and on to Trafalgar Square at its eastern end. It then crosses Spring Gardens, which was where the Metropolitan Board of Works and, for a number of years, the London County Council were...

, which extends to the South-West, and Trafalgar Square

Trafalgar Square

Trafalgar Square is a public space and tourist attraction in central London, England, United Kingdom. At its centre is Nelson's Column, which is guarded by four lion statues at its base. There are a number of statues and sculptures in the square, with one plinth displaying changing pieces of...

 to the North-East. It was designed by Sir Aston Webb

Aston Webb

Sir Aston Webb, RA, FRIBA was an English architect, active in the late 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th century...

, constructed by John Mowlem & Co

Mowlem

Mowlem was one of the largest construction and civil engineering companies in the United Kingdom. Carillion bought the firm in 2006.-History:Founded by John Mowlem in 1822, the company was awarded a Royal Warrant in 1902 and went public on the London Stock Exchange in 1924. It acquired SGB Group in...

 and completed in 1912. It adjoins the Old Admiralty Building

Admiralty

The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...

, hence the name.

The building was commissioned by King Edward VII

Edward VII of the United Kingdom

Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...

 in memory of his mother Queen Victoria, although he did not live to see its completion. A Latin inscription along the top reads:
(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

Thomas Brock

Sir Thomas Brock KCB RA was an English sculptor.- Life :Brock was born in Worcester, attended the School of Design in Worcester and then undertook an apprenticeship in modelling at the Worcester Royal Porcelain Works. In 1866 he became a pupil of the sculptor John Henry Foley. He married in 1869,...

.

Admiralty Arch is a Grade I listed building. In 2000, 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....

 moved into offices in the building, while maintaining its headquarters on Whitehall

Whitehall

Whitehall is a road in Westminster, in London, England. It is the main artery running north from Parliament Square, towards Charing Cross at the southern end of Trafalgar Square...

. It was also home to the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit

Prime Minister's Strategy Unit

The Prime Minister's Strategy Unit was an elite unit based in the UK Cabinet Office between 2002 and 2010...

 and the Social Exclusion Task Force

Social Exclusion Task Force

The Social Exclusion Task Force was a part of the Cabinet Office that provides the UK Government with strategic advice and policy analysis in its drive against social exclusion. It was preceded by the Social Exclusion Unit, which was set up by the Labour government in 1997 and formed part of the...

. In 2011, following the government's austerity

Age of austerity

The term “Age of Austerity” was popularized by British Conservative leader David Cameron in his keynote speech to the Conservative party forum in Cheltenham on April 26, 2009, when he committed to put an end to years of excessive government spending....

programme which resulted in the offices becoming vacant, the building was put on sale.

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.

Gallery