When was horse guards parade built

Only members of the royal family or cavalrymen on duty are allowed to travel through the archway; however, tourists are free to walk through from Whitehall to the Horse Guards Parade and St. If you miss the parade, you can get your picture taken with the Horse Guards on duty at any time on Whitehall Road. The Household Cavalry Museum is opened daily from 10 a.

November to March. Schedule: Book now. Email: london strawberrytours. We are very excited to announce that tours are running again! Visit the tour calendar to view the availability as well as the safety guidelines! Special Tips If you are travelling to London by train and interested in visiting the Household Cavalry Museum, make sure to take advantage of the discount with the rail card promotion to save money on admission costs.

Getting There Address. By Tube. By Train. By Bus. By car. Visiting The Horse Guards Parade Only members of the royal family or cavalrymen on duty are allowed to travel through the archway; however, tourists are free to walk through from Whitehall to the Horse Guards Parade and St.

The mounted sentries, on the other hand, change every hour or every half hour during cold weather until 4 p. Once they leave the Calvary stables, you can also catch them marching down The Mall if you head towards Buckingham Palace around a. This major step forward in working conditions and working methods for Treasury staff was achieved through a complete refurbishment of the western end of the building known as Government Offices Great George St GOGGS.

The royal treasure was originally located in Winchester, and was moved to the Whitehall area following the Norman Conquest. On ascending to the throne Charles II, perhaps wanting to keep a close eye on his finances, allocated it rooms in Whitehall Palace. This consisted of a number of timber-framed buildings grouped around formal gardens, originally built in by Henry VIII. Cock-fighting had ceased there under the Tudors but the building was used as a theatre and as chambers for members of the Royal Household.

The Treasury continued to occupy this building, and expanded into a new Treasury building designed by John Soane, until both buildings were severely damaged by bombs in GOGGS was designed and built between and It stands on the site of a number of narrow old streets cleared to make way for the building.

Construction was in 2 phases. The Parliament Street Whitehall end was built first, completed in The aim was to build light, open-plan offices so offices were built around the perimeter walls of the building and around three large courtyards, while corridors were placed beside light-wells. In order to maximise floor space, offices were arranged either side of dark internal corridors — the opposite of what had been intended.

However, Horse Guards remained as the only official entrance to the Court and has done so ever since. Over the years the old building was increasingly used as a military administrative base and had become overcrowded and cramped. It had also fallen into disrepair and by the sentries were said to be in danger from falling masonry. In that year King George II agreed to replace the building and the design was entrusted to William Kent, who had also designed the new Treasury building just to the south.

Not permitted to encroach on St James's Park , Kent kept the basic design of the old building, including the domed clock tower, but extended the wings around the courtyard, doubling its capacity. The building was intended as a dramatic Palladian-style entrance to what was going to be a new Palace where the old Palace of Whitehall had stood. However, George III instead bought Buckingham Palace as his principle residence, which of course is still in use today.

It continued the previous clock's proud tradition as the most accurate timepiece in West London until the installation of Big Ben in A coffee house, established in rooms of the floors overlooking Whitehall, rapidly acquired an unsavoury reputation. Horse Guards being considered a military garrison, any attempt by the civil police to deal with disorder was strongly resisted but after being described in a War Office Memo as "to all intents and purposes a common public house, occupied by people of the worst character and low women" it was finally closed in Absolutely no comparison should be made with the current NMFI canteen.

Evidence of other non-military activities on the cavalry side of the building takes the form of a recently excavated cockpit in the basement, complete with fireplace and a small spectator area. Here, no doubt, excited punters once witnessed the gruesome eighteenth century sport of cock fighting. There seems also to have been a less sinister interest in poultry. The dismounted cavalry trooper who stands near the entrance to the stables is known to this day as the " chick sentry ", in honour, it is said, of a sentry who was found asleep on guard.

His response to questioning by an enraged commanding officer as to why he thought he was posted to that spot was that he supposed it was to keep an eye on the Quartermaster Sergeant's chickens which evidently roamed the area! See map by clicking here. In the Household Cavalry was the first to move in to the new building, then as now occupying the northern wing with offices and stabling for 62 horses.

Today these stables are used by the Queen's Life Guard which provides the mounted and dismounted sentries for Horse Guards and have room for only 17 horses, virtually the number required for the "Long Guard" when The Queen is resident in London.