MI5 (the internal security service) is
in Thames House, Millbank and MI6 (the external
security intellegence service) in Vauxhall Cross,
designed by Terry Farell and reputed to have cost £260m.
Spies can buy their equipment at the Spy Shop in
South Audley Street, Mayfair.
The CABINET WAR ROOMS are part of a 6
acre complex of fortified offices beneath Whitehall
constructed in the 1930s. The rooms served as the
wartime HQ used by Churchill, his war cabinet and
staff around the clock. They remained unused from
August 1945 but are now open to the public daily. The
admission charge includes an audio guide. Access is
from Clive Steps, King Charles Street. A Churchill
museum is due to open in Jan 2005 meanwhile the space
is being used for some special events. Tel 020 7930
6961 www.iwm.org.uk/cabinet
The above ground section of the
Admiralty citadel can be seen at the junction of
Horse Guards Road and the Mall. The Northern line
provided a number of deep level shelters. Four were
public shelters with bunks for 8000. Chancery Lane
and Clapham Common were for government use during V1
and V2 rocket attacks. Stockwell housed American
troops and Goodge Street was a D-Day command centre
for General Eisenhower. This is now used for archive
storage and can be seen on my Bloomsbury walk.
The FREEMASONS have an undeserved
reputation of being a secret society since the public
are welcome to visit their HQ in Wild Street, Covent
Garden. The library and museum are open Monday to
Friday 10-5 and free guided tours of the building are
generally available weekdays at 11am, noon, 2pm, 3pm
& 4pm (phone to check). Tel 020 7395 9258. www.grandlodge-england.org
The Freemasons also occupy the former Middlesex
Sessions House on Clerkenwell Green featured on my Crime & Punishment walk.
Read more in 'Secret London' by Andrew
Duncan