16 Facts About Whitehall

Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London.

Consequently, the name "Whitehall" is used as a metonym for the British civil service and government, and as the geographic name for the surrounding area.

Name was taken from the Palace of Whitehall that was the residence of Kings Henry VIII through to William III, before its destruction by fire in 1698; only the Banqueting House has survived.

Whitehall was originally a wide road that led to the front of the palace; the route to the south was widened in the 18th century following the destruction of the palace.

The Whitehall Theatre was formerly associated with a series of farces.

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Name Whitehall was used for several buildings in the Tudor period.

The name Whitehall was originally only used for the section of road between Charing Cross and Holbein Gate; beyond this it was known as The Street as far as King Street Gate, then King Street thereafter.

Whitehall married Anne Boleyn here in 1533, followed by Jane Seymour in 1536, and died at the palace in 1547.

Whitehall itself was a wide street and had sufficient space for a scaffold to be erected for the King's execution at Banqueting House.

The government wanted to be some distance from the monarch, and the buildings around Whitehall, physically separated from St James's Palace by St James's Park, seemed to be a good place for ministers to work.

The name "Whitehall" is used as a metonym to refer to that part of the civil service which is involved in the government of the United Kingdom.

Additional security measures have been put in place along Whitehall to protect government buildings, following a £25 million streetscape project undertaken by Westminster City Council.

Whitehall Theatre opened in 1930 at the north west end of the street, on a site that had previously been Ye Old Ship Tavern in the 17th century.

The revue Whitehall Follies opened in 1942, which drew controversy over its explicit content featuring the stripper and actress Phyllis Dixey.

The theatre became known for its series of farces, reviving a tradition on Whitehall that had begun with court jesters at the palace during the 16th century; these included several plays featuring actor-manager Brian Rix throughout the 1950s and '60s, and 1981's satirical Anyone for Denis, written by John Wells and Private Eye editor Richard Ingrams.

Whitehall is one of three purple squares on the British Monopoly board, along with Pall Mall and Northumberland Avenue.