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Whitehall: The Street that Shaped a Nation
No other street in Britain contains more landmarks to our island's history than Whitehall. Here, Colin Brown takes us behind its closed doors. We visit what was the most notorious address in London when Byron and Lady Caroline Lamb conducted their very public and tempestuous love affair; the Admiralty, where Nelson received his orders to attack the French; and fragments of the tennis courts where Anne Boleyn watched Henry VIII playing tennis in his 'slops'. We follow in Henry's footsteps down a secret passageway leading to Number Ten Downing Street, later used by Alastair Campbell to avoid the cameras outside Number Ten, and witness never-before-published documents that show how Churchill, in 1940, prepared for street fighting in Whitehall's departments. Whitehalltells the story of our island race, its empire, its conquests and its decline, encapsulated in one small corner of the capital.
388 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
December 11, 2014
I'm a visualist who loves history. I know WhiteHall Palace was destroyed by the great fire in 1698. When I visit London, I always stay at The Royal Horseguards Hotel (on the site of WhiteHall) I want to sleep and feel the history of The Tudors and Stuarts. When I walk around the large area, I've always tried to picture "how it was." This book grabbed my attention and I was hoping it would answer those questions and it did. This book, written by a political editor, covered so much information from Edward I to current day WhiteHall. I learned a lot that I've missed (ex: The Royal Horseguards clock having 2pm blacked out for the beheading time of Charles I.) I now know the layout, where pieces of The Tudor Whitehall still exsist and hide from the public. I know the hotel I mentioned above was home to the MI6 headquarters and I've seen the tunnels underneath it and have visited Churchill's War Rooms. This book brings it all together. The negatives....there is so much information and the author jumps through history verse simply writing the chapters in historical order. I also didn't appreciate the author adding his personal little political digs. Who would enjoy this book? Honestly, they way it's written, I feel you need to be familiar with the area to follow it. This is a great refrence book for those who like a visual or want to visit the area. I just wish it was more broken down by dates, so it's easy to jump to an era.
July 26, 2015
If you're a history geek and work in Whitehall then this was a great read. Colin Brown didn't just talk about the buildings but the history and stories surrounding them. It dates right back to the founding of Charing Cross, then a small hamlet on the way to White Hall palace, right up to 2007. Although closed off to members of the public there is still plenty to see from the outside, definitely worth a read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 20, 2024
Colin Brown in his book ‘Whitehall The Street that Shaped a Nation’ aims to provide a history of the street that has been central to England and then the UK for the last five hundred years. Whitehall has been at the centre of power. First through the palace built by Cardinal Wolsey and confiscated by Henry VIII and then expanded haphazardly over the next couple of centuries. As the time of Kings controlling everything power moved up the street to the new ministers and departments. This of course includes not just Whitehall itself but the small off streets such as King Charles St (Foreign Office) and Downing St.
I think this is one of those books that does not provide what I wanted from it, which does not necessarily mean it is a bad book; many will feel the opposite, that it is exactly what they want. But for me, as a self proclaimed biography of the street I was expecting more about how the street was born and developed. Whitehall has a collection of impressive buildings and it would have been interesting to read about their development, what was there before, why they were changed, what the trials and tribulations there were to get the buildings built. Brown usually provides a little bit on the building; when it was built, the style of architecture etc but at most a page or so. The exception is the Foreign Office where Palmerston’s arguments with the architects seem to have captured Brown’s attention. But surely this kind of thing happened with every building. One that I know a bit about, the admiralty extension, for example went through several stages of design and parliamentary debates before being built, surely this was the case for all the buildings which should have provided plenty of grist for the mill.
Instead what we get are short accounts of significant bits of history that took place in or around Whitehall. This to a certain extent leads to a ‘best bits of English history’ approach to the book; Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, check! Charles I getting his head cut off, check! Samuel Pepys and the Great Fire of London, check! Jack the ripper, check! Winston Churchill and WWII check! The buildings are brought in, but they feel very much the sideshow, the scenery for the stage… which is of course the case. But ultimately if I want a book on the events or personalities I’ll go for a book on the event itself rather than one that purports to do something quite different.
My other criticism is that this is already feeling a bit dated. Being a journalist Brown can't help himself but write a lot about what was current in 2009 - the New Labour years - but now 15 years later feels very long ago. Thus we get lots of little anecdotes about Blair’s ministers. Nothing wrong with anecdotes but it might have helped if they were rather more evenly scattered over the last 50 years rather than just one administration.
Finally I noticed a couple of mistakes, most notably saying James III/VIII and Bonnie Prince Charlie were not son/grandson of James II which is a bit of a whopper… or else incredibly partisan Williamite! Could have done with a map of the whole of Whitehall rather than just the old palace, I know the area well but still had to resort to google maps.
A good book if you want some short snippets of English history tied into a particular place. But not one for lots of information on the development, design and buildings of the buildings that line Whitehall.
I think this is one of those books that does not provide what I wanted from it, which does not necessarily mean it is a bad book; many will feel the opposite, that it is exactly what they want. But for me, as a self proclaimed biography of the street I was expecting more about how the street was born and developed. Whitehall has a collection of impressive buildings and it would have been interesting to read about their development, what was there before, why they were changed, what the trials and tribulations there were to get the buildings built. Brown usually provides a little bit on the building; when it was built, the style of architecture etc but at most a page or so. The exception is the Foreign Office where Palmerston’s arguments with the architects seem to have captured Brown’s attention. But surely this kind of thing happened with every building. One that I know a bit about, the admiralty extension, for example went through several stages of design and parliamentary debates before being built, surely this was the case for all the buildings which should have provided plenty of grist for the mill.
Instead what we get are short accounts of significant bits of history that took place in or around Whitehall. This to a certain extent leads to a ‘best bits of English history’ approach to the book; Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, check! Charles I getting his head cut off, check! Samuel Pepys and the Great Fire of London, check! Jack the ripper, check! Winston Churchill and WWII check! The buildings are brought in, but they feel very much the sideshow, the scenery for the stage… which is of course the case. But ultimately if I want a book on the events or personalities I’ll go for a book on the event itself rather than one that purports to do something quite different.
My other criticism is that this is already feeling a bit dated. Being a journalist Brown can't help himself but write a lot about what was current in 2009 - the New Labour years - but now 15 years later feels very long ago. Thus we get lots of little anecdotes about Blair’s ministers. Nothing wrong with anecdotes but it might have helped if they were rather more evenly scattered over the last 50 years rather than just one administration.
Finally I noticed a couple of mistakes, most notably saying James III/VIII and Bonnie Prince Charlie were not son/grandson of James II which is a bit of a whopper… or else incredibly partisan Williamite! Could have done with a map of the whole of Whitehall rather than just the old palace, I know the area well but still had to resort to google maps.
A good book if you want some short snippets of English history tied into a particular place. But not one for lots of information on the development, design and buildings of the buildings that line Whitehall.
February 6, 2022
Pretty enjoyable. Lots of nice anecdotes about the area as the seat of Government through Tudors, Stuarts, Georgians and during the Second World War. Scotland Yard is also talked about. And there are some interesting facts and speculations about underground Whitehall too. The book starts off as a chronological account but that obviously started to feel a bit difficult for the author and it does get a bit structurally messy and sidetracked in places thereafter. And it should also be said that the journalist was obviously quite close to some of the Blair Cabinet and some of them take a slightly disproportionate place in the narrative.
October 25, 2024
Fun gossipy history of the evolution of Whitehall, with biographical sketches of many of the characters who populated it over the centuries. Lots of insider details, and descriptions of interesting spaces behind doors which remain closed to the public.
September 28, 2023
This was an interesting read, particularly the early history of Whitehall but it was quite dense with facts and difficult to get through
February 26, 2012
I am a British History buff but it would seem not enough of one to have the background knowledge I feel you need to really enjoy this book in the way it deserves. I have visited London but not Whitehall and would like to do that & reread the book - or perhaps reread the book just before visiting Whitehall. However, I think the idea of a biogrphy of a city, or a building is fascinating on its on and have thouroughly enjoyed Liza Picard and Peter Ackroyd with similar themes.
I do recommend this book - it is a treasure trove of information about an area that has been so intimately involved in the evolution of a nation.
I do recommend this book - it is a treasure trove of information about an area that has been so intimately involved in the evolution of a nation.
December 19, 2011
I enjoyed this book immensely. At times it seemed a bit disjointed, but it was so full of little titbits of fascinating information that I forgot about what I disliked about the style. As usual, English history and titles can get a bit confusing (especially when you get into the Whig and Tory era!), but nevertheless, this was a good read.
Aside: I remembered seeing the figures representing Africa etc on the side of a building the last time I was in London and wondering why they were so strange - this book provided the answer to that!
Aside: I remembered seeing the figures representing Africa etc on the side of a building the last time I was in London and wondering why they were so strange - this book provided the answer to that!
July 31, 2011
Really racy, pacey and full of interesting historical details that make you realise that while the street many have changed in many ways over the last 1000 years, people - especially powerful people - haven't.
May 19, 2013
A good diversion on the loo, incl. Geoffrey Howe (topical with his dead sheep outburst today against Cameron) bragging of the view from the Foreign Secretary’s loo which uniquely includes Mountbatten and Nelson.
August 5, 2009
Fantastic.
Full of lots of interesting stories as well as documenting the history of Whitehall from Wolsey's Palace to what happens where today
Full of lots of interesting stories as well as documenting the history of Whitehall from Wolsey's Palace to what happens where today
October 9, 2011
Very interesting story of the lives and history of the heart of our modern government.
February 12, 2012
A fascinating read. Disjointed in places as Colin Brown, a journalist, seemed to struggle to tell the story in a flowing narrative. Many little story gems. More maps would have been useful.
May 13, 2014
A bit disjointed but overall a very interesting read
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews