Thames House

Thames House is an office building in Millbank, London, on the north bank of the River Thames adjacent to Lambeth Bridge. Originally used as offices by Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI), it has served as the headquarters of the United Kingdom's internal Security Service (commonly known as MI5) since December 1994. It also served as the London headquarters of the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) until March 2013.

Thames House
View of Thames House from Millbank.
General information
Status	Complete
Type	Office
Architectural style	Neoclassical
Location	City of Westminster
Address	11 and 12 Millbank
Town or city	London
Country	United Kingdom
Coordinates	51°29′38″N 0°07′32″W
Current tenants	Security Service (MI5)
Construction started	1929
Completed	1930
Renovated	1990-1994
Renovation cost	£227m
Owner	HM Government
Technical details
Material	Portland stone and granite
Floor count	8
Design and construction
Architect	Sir Frank Baines
Architecture firm	Office of Works
Other designers	Charles Sargeant Jagger (Sculptures)
Renovating team
Architect	GMW Architects
Renovating firm	Property Services Agency and Security Service (MI5)
Structural engineer	Oscar Faber & Partners
Quantity surveyor	Northcroft, Neighbour & Nicholson
Main contractor	J Mowlem & Co.
Other information
Public transit access	Westminster
Listed Building – Grade II
Official name	Thames House (North and South Blocks With Bridge Link)
Designated	16 January 1981
Reference no.	1267604

History

Thames House on the left; Imperial Chemical House on the right.

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's 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.[1]

The building has been listed Grade II on the National Heritage List for England since 16 January 1981.[2]

MI5 and NIO headquarters

The archway, showing the GMW infill extension built for MI5

Thames House was first used by MI5 between 1934 and 1939: the service was located on the top floor of the South Block.[3]

The service relocated to Blenheim Palace for much of the Second World War and then moved to Leconfield House after the war before relocating to 140 Gower Street in 1976.[4] The dispersed and dilapidated state of its previous buildings at 140 Gower Street (headquarters) and Curzon Street House (registry, administration and technical services) led MI5 to seek a new home in the late 1980s. The Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) were engaged in a simultaneous hunt for new headquarters and consideration was given to co-location of the two. However this proposal was abandoned, due to the lack of buildings of adequate size (existing or proposed) and the security considerations of becoming a single target for attacks. At the same time, Thames House, which was largely used as government offices by then, became vacant when the Department of Energy left the southern half in 1989 and it was decided to convert and refit much of it for MI5's use. The GMW Partnership undertook the design and Mowlem carried out the necessary reconstruction work from 1990, which included part-infilling of the building's distinctive archway.[5] An automated miniature monorail within the building brings files up from the basement of Thames House to staff working within.[6]

The refurbished Thames House was officially opened on 30 November 1994 by Prime Minister John Major.[6][7]

The building was shared with the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) until that organisation moved to 1 Horse Guards Road alongside HM Treasury and the Cabinet Office in 2013.[8]

On 1 June 2007, the building (other than the steps that give access to it) were designated as a protected site for the purposes of Section 128 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005. The effect of the act was to make it a specific criminal offence for a person to trespass into the building.[9]

Popular culture

Up until its seventh series, the BBC television series Spooks used the exterior and lobby of the Freemasons' Hall in Great Queen Street as a location for the show's portrayal of Thames House. Since then Thames House has been used, although Freemasons' Hall is still used to show the entrance to the building.[10]

The third series of the BBC television series Torchwood used Thames House as the setting for the arrival of an alien species on Earth.[11]

• 
  Thames House as seen from the Lambeth side of the River Thames
• 
  Jagger's St. George figure on the exterior
• 
  Jagger's Britannia figure on the exterior
• 
  Thames House at night
• 
  Thames House and Lambeth Bridge, looking downriver.

See also

• SIS Building – Headquarters of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6)
• The Doughnut – Headquarters of the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ)

References

1. "Thames House and Vauxhall Cross" (PDF). National Audit Office. 18 February 2000. p. 24. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
2. Historic England. "Thames House (North and South Blocks with Bridge Link) (1267604)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
3. Andrew, Christopher (2009). The Defence of the Realm: The Authorized History of MI5. Allen Lane. p. 134. ISBN 978-0-713-99885-6.
4. "The Secret Architecture of London". Geocities. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
5. Sheldon, Robert (June 1993). Thames House and Vauxhall Cross (PDF). London: National Audit Office. p. 43. ISBN 0105566691. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
6. Christopher Andrew (26 April 2012). The Defence of the Realm: The Authorized History of MI5. Penguin Books Limited. p. 778. ISBN 978-0-7181-9744-5.
7. "Thames House". Security Service. Archived from the original on 8 August 2013. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
8. "Northern Ireland Office moves into the heart of Whitehall". Northern Ireland Office. 5 March 2013. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
9. "Home Office Circular 018 / 2007 (Trespass on protected sites - sections 128-131 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005)". GOV.UK. Home Office. 22 May 2007. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
10. "Spooks - Expert questions". BBC. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
11. "Children of Earth Day Four". Doctor Who Locations. Retrieved 21 November 2018.