The Quirky Quarters of the London Admiralty Complex: A Maze of Power, Once

The London Admiralty Complex, hidden among Whitehall, Horse Guards Parade, and The Mall, is a labyrinth of government departments. Initially, these halls belonged to the Royal Navy. The Ripley Building, constructed in 1726 and called 'hideous' by Alexander Pope, now hosts the International Development section of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. This historic department even bore witness to Lord Nelson's funeral cortege on the eve before his state funeral. Ahead, the Admiralty House, designed in 1788 by Samuel Pepys Cockerell, was a time the First Lord of the Admiralty, held by those like Winston Churchill, would call home. The Admiralty Arch and Admiralty Extension, each with their own dramas, also call this grand complex home. We cannot help but ask: who walks these halls of power today?

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons