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The Best of Britain: British Embassy Washington
The Embassy:
The bridge over Rock Creek Parkway; Glover Memorial, was completed in 1939, connecting the British Embassy to downtown Washington. The British Embassy was the first embassy built on what is now known as Embassy Row. An estimated 12,000-14,000 people pass through the Residence each year.
The British Government has had representation in Washington, DC since 1791 and was previously located on Connecticut Avenue. In 1893, the British Foreign Office in Washington DC was upgraded from a Legation and became an official Embassy. Lord Julian Paunceforte was the first actual Ambassador to the United States.
This is the biggest British Embassy in the world, employing more than 400 staff, and nearly all departments in Whitehall are also represented.
The Residence:
The Ambassador's Residence is the only building in the United States by renowned architect Sir Edwin Lutyens. While designed in 1926, final construction ended in 1930. More office space was needed and in the late 1950s the offices were transferred to the building next door. The original offices are now used as apartments for staff and offices for the British Council and Embassy gym.
The red bricks used on the exterior of the house are of non-standard size, suggesting an English country house of the Queen Anne period, and were hand-made in Virginia to resemble those used in Tudor times in Britain. The limestone used in contrast was quarried in Indiana.
A royal standard is flown over the Residence when a member of the Royal Family is present. This has been done most recently for HM The Queen, HRH The Prince of Wales, and the HRH The Duke of York. Otherwise, the flag of the Union flies along with the European Union flag.
The Gardens/Grounds:
In 1939, the public park bordering the Embassy grounds on Massachusetts Avenue was to be turned into housing. Ambassador Lothian brought the public park and donated it to the British Embassy. Now it is the current location of the Churchill statue and part of the gardens.
The lawns are surrounded by mature trees, including several planted by members of the Royal Family. There are also dogwoods, maples, magnolias, crab-apples, cherries and a weeping beech.
A small new "secret" garden was recently added below the swimming pool area with shrubs and perennials and featuring a stone seat made fom the cornerstone of the original Embassy on Connecticut Avenue. Also, the roses are varieties of hybrid tea, and the same are concentrated together producing dramatic splashes of color.
There are two bronze statues in the gardens: Single Form (Eikon) by Dame Barbara Hepworth and Sleeping Horse by Dame Elizabeth Frink.
Churchill Statue:
The Churchill Statue is the work of William M. McVey of Cleveland and was unveiled by the Hon Dean Rusk, then Secretary of State, on April 9, 1966, the third anniversary of the granting of US citizenship to Sir Winston, a generous tribute by the people of the United States to a great man.
The statue stands astride the boundary between the property of the British Embassy and the District of Columbia to symbolise Sir Winston's Anglo-American parentage and his honorary citizenship of the United States, and is on permanent loan from the British Speaking Union. The statue has one foot on British soil and the other on American soil and British soil is contained in a box under his feet. |