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History of 36 Whitehall

The building (see right) occupies the site of the old Office of the Paymaster of the Forces, the first clear reference to which occurs in 1676.

In 1732-3, there was carried out the work of 'Rebuilding an Office for the Paymaster General of our Forces and Stables for our Horse Guards'. The cost of this and certain other work was £3,842 10s 11d. The work was carried out by John Lane (? -1753), who held the combined posts of Surveyor of the Horse Guards and Clerk of the Works at Chelsea Hospital from 1728 to 1753.

The 1733 building was of brick with stone dressings. A northern annex was added in 1806, when 'efforts were made to effect a harmony with the main front'.

The present stone facade facing the park (see below) was originally the park front of No. 37 Great George Street, the corner house at the park end, with its main entrance on the north side of Great George Street. The earliest reference to this house is in 1793, but by then it had undoubtedly been in existence for many years. The house was demolished in 1910 to make way for the New Government Offices, and the facade was re-erected in its present position by H.M. Office of Works.

In 1940 a large portion of the building, including half the original Whitehall elevation, was destroyed by a bomb.

Reconstruction of the building was completed in 1968, when a modern reinforced-concrete office block was constructed between the historic facades, which were restored. The Parliamentary Counsel moved in on the completion of the reconstruction.

Some of the original panelling, doors and plasterwork, and a carved wooden chimneypiece, were salvaged from the damaged building. These were incorporated in a reconstruction of the historic Paymaster General's room on the ground floor.