In 1875 the second stage, facing Whitehall, was completed and became home to the Colonial and Home Offices. The Western facade, facing onto St James’s Park Wyatt then went on to design the interior of the India Office, leaving Scott to focus largely on the facades and the interior of the Foreign Office. The India Office wanted Scott to collaborate with their Surveyor Matthew Digby Wyatt. The new building was also to be home to the India Office, formed in 1858 when the Government of India Act called for the liquidation of the East India Company and took over the running of India itself. He therefore packed his bags, went to Paris, and studied neoclassical architecture. He initially wanted a neo-gothic design, more in keeping with what he is best known for today, such as the Albert Memorial, but was asked by Palmerston to change it to a neo-classical design instead. There was uproar about this blatant disregard for the competition, led by George Gilbert Scott, who ended up managing to wangle himself the commission. The winners were Henry Edward Coe and Henry H Hofland with the design below.Ī new Prime Minister came in, Lord Palmerston, who disregarded the results and brought in Sir James Pennethorne who had submitted designs years earlier but had not entered the competition. The DesignĪ competition had been launched in 1856 to design the building and Scott actually finished third. It included the India Office and later the Home Office and Colonial Office.Īs well as meeting an urgent need for more efficient offices, Scott intended it as a ‘kind of national palace or drawing room for the nation’, to impress foreign visitors. The first stage was completed in 1868, designed by George Gilbert Scott, as a new office block for the government. The first Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs was appointed in 1782 but the building was only started in 1861. It was also fascinating to look around a building that has been and still is at the heart of our country’s story. I was surprised to see how much of it was so grand and elaborately decorated, it is a real Victorian gem. The Eastern facade of the building onto Whitehallįor most Londoners, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Building is likely one you have walked past many times but, unless you have been on an open day or work there, have not looked inside. I was recently lucky enough to be invited to have a look round the Foreign Office building on King Charles Street in Westminster.

Inside an office building