Close-up view of the Millbank Entrance to Thames House.
Thames House was designed by Sir Frank Baines, the Principal Architect of the Government's Office of Works, and constructed in 1929-30. It was built on the site of a poor, run-down district that was widely regarded as a slum (in the words of The Times, "a reproach to Westminste. The design of Thames House owes much to the Imperial Neoclassical style of Sir Edwin Lutyens, the designer of the Cenotaph on Whitehall. It also ties in with the Imperial design of Lambeth Bridge (built 1930-32). The Portland stone façade is decorated with sculptures by Charles Sargeant Jagger, a prominent British sculptor of the early 20th century, who also designed the Royal Artillery Memorial at Hyde Park Corner. Thames House is the headquarters of the Security Service, commonly known as MI5 (Military Intelligence, Section 5), the United Kingdom's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency. The building was constructed in 1929-30 by John Mowlem & Co on riverside land cleared after the disastrous 1928 Thames flood severely damaged run-down residential properties. It was built to designs by Sir Frank Baines, of the Government's Office of Works. It is of design uniform with but not identical to Imperial Chemical House which is opposite it on the north side of Horseferry Road; while Imperial Chemical House was exclusively for ICI, Thames House originally had various uses, including the London headquarters of International Nickel Ltd. Baines' design owes much to the 'Imperial Neoclassical' tradition of Sir Edwin Lutyens and deliberately ties in with the Imperial design of Lambeth Bridge when it was redesigned from 1929. High up on the frontage are statues of St George and Britannia sculpted by Charles Sargeant Jagger. It was owned by Thames House Estates until it was sold to the British Government in 1994. Thames House Estates was jointly owned by ICI and Prudential for many years and subsequently was wholly owned by ICI.
Size: 5430px × 3744px
Location: Thames House, Milbank, London.
Photo credit: © John Gaffen / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: arch, britania, buiding, charles, entrance, george, government, house, jagger, keystone, mc, mi5, milbank, millbank, sargeant, sculptures, security, service, st, thames
