An Exclusive Look Inside The Spectacular Foreign Office Building

I was recently lucky enough to be invited to have a look round the Foreign Office building on King Charles Street in Westminster. 

For 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 surprised to see how much of it was so grand and elaborately decorated, it is a real Victorian gem. It was also fascinating to look around a building that has been and still is at the heart of our country’s story. 

The Foreign Office Building 

The first Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs was appointed in 1782 but the building was only started in 1861.

The first stage was completed in 1868, designed by George Gilbert Scott, as a new office block for the government. It included the India Office and later the Home Office and Colonial Office.

As 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 Design

A competition had been launched in 1856 to design the building and Scott actually finished third. The winners were Henry Edward Coe and Henry H Hofland with the design below. 

A 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. There was uproar about this blatant disregard for the competition, led by George Gilbert Scott, who ended up managing to wangle himself the commission. 

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. He therefore packed his bags, went to Paris, and studied neoclassical architecture. 

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.

The India Office wanted Scott to collaborate with their Surveyor Matthew Digby Wyatt. 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. 

In 1875 the second stage, facing Whitehall, was completed and became home to the Colonial and Home Offices. 

Post-War Britain

After the war, due to overcrowding and a lack of funds for refurbishment, many of the grand features had been covered with false ceilings and plasterboard divisions. 

The plan in the 1960s was to knock it down and start again: a brand new Whitehall. Thankfully a public outcry and a lack of money meant that the building was saved and designated Grade I listed. 

Features

Durbar Court

At the centre of the former India Office is the incredible Durbar Court, designed by Matthew Digby Wyatt. Durbar is a term of Persian origin meaning the noble court of a king or a meeting held by a king. The Court took on this name after the coronation celebrations of King Edward VII were held here in 1902. 

Inspired by Italian Renaissance architecture, the court was once open to the air and the sides contain four storeys of columns (Doric, followed by Ionian, then Corinthian at the upper levels).

They also contain many sculptures and carvings of officers, dignitaries and intricate tiled friezes. 

The stunning floor is made of Greek, Sicilian and Belgian marble. 

India Office Council Chamber

Also designed by Wyatt is the India Office Council Chamber. This is where the Secretary of State for India and his council met to discuss policy from 1868. They met here until 1947 when India gained its independence. The doors, chimney and paintings were all brought from the old offices of the East India Company on Leadenhall Street. 

The elaborate fireplace was carved by Flemish sculptor Michael Rysbrack in 1730 and depicts Britannia receiving the riches of the East Indies, with female figures representing Africa and Asia. 

The Council Chamber, opulently decorated, with its allegorical carvings stands as a stark reminder of the role Britain played in India. 

The Grand Staircase

The most breathtaking area in the building is the Grand Staircase. A rich red carpet flows down the stairs and there are various sculptures and busts of previous foreign secretaries. 

You stand under a barrel vaulted ceiling and a large dome depicting the signs of the zodiac, with female figures representing various countries that Britain had relations with at that time. 

The details are incredible, I loved for example this depiction of a hunt in one of the borders.

Around the grand staircase are five murals by Sigismund Goetze, painted from 1912-1921.

They are very much reflective of the attitudes of that period and depict the British Empire at various stages of its development from origins displayed here.

The Foreign Office has reexamined all of the artworks in the building with a view to them being representative of Britain’s views and place in the world today whilst also preserving the history. Information boards have been put out explaining the background of the paintings for example. 

Locarno Suites

The Locarno Suites are a series of three rooms designed by Scott for dinners, conferences and receptions. 

They are named after the Locarno Treaties signed in 1925 to reduce tensions in Europe. The formal signature of the treaties took place in these rooms. After the war they were divided with plasterboard into cubicles and a false ceiling put in.

Thankfully from the 1980s onwards the ceiling has been repainted and restored to its original designs by Clayton and Bell. 

Muses Staircase

In the former India Office you will also find the Muses Staircase. Once leading up to the Secretary of State for India’s office, light streams in through an octagonal glass lantern above. It is supported by goddesses of plenty and cherubs representing the Roman virtues. 

Below them are portraits of Emperor Napoleon III and Empress Eugenie, painted by Armand Constant Milicourt-Lefebre. They were presented to the East India Company in acknowledgement of its contribution to the Paris Exhibition in 1855. 

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed our look around the highlights of the Foreign Office building. You can find out more about visiting and open days here.

More of London’s incredible history and architecture below.