Did you know?
There are a wide variety of quirky and unusual places, properties and locations in the area, both historic and contemporary.

The Admiralty Arch nose
Bizarrely, there is a nose protruding at a height of about 7 feet in the first Arch. Urban legend says that it was a put there as a tribute to Wellington, who had a big nose. However, it's more likely to be a later addition in the 1990's by a street artist called Rick Buckley, who hid various noses around Central London.

55 Broadway
London's first skyscraper is currently the HQ of London Transport, it caused outrage in the 1930's due its nude sculptures and is now Grade 1 listed.

Cockpit Steps
Built during the 18th century, the Royal Cockpit stood alongside Birdcage Walk. The Royal Cockpit itself however was demolished in 1816, but these narrow stone steps at Queen Anne’s Gate which once led into it still remain.

Churchill's Statue
The statue of Churchill on Parliament Square has an electric current running through it to prevent pigeons defiling his memory.

College Garden
The garden of Westminster Abbey, a thousand years ago it was part of the infirmary of the original monastery, and it is said to be the oldest garden in England under continuous cultivation. The produce can have done little for the health of the monks, due to heavy lead pollution on the land.

Downing Street
10 Downing Street was built by Sir George Downing, who was a spy for Oliver Cromwell. It contains over 100 rooms. The door has no lock, and the zero in the number ten is always skewed to one side. 

Deans Yard
Deans Yard is still used by boys of Westminster School as a makeshift football pitch. However, the 'jumpers for goalposts' rules belie the fact that the modern game of football was invented here.

Goring Hotel
The Goring Hotel, based just off Grosvenor Gardens, played host to the family of Diana Spencer during the royal wedding of her and Prince Charles, as they did to the family of Kate Middleton during the royal wedding of March 2011. 
The only family run 5* Hotel in London, it is a rare freehold on the Grosvenor Estate and was the first hotel in the world to have all ensuite bathrooms and central heating.

Grosvenor Hotel
The Grosvenor Hotel at Victoria Station was the first hotel to feature lifts, or 'ascending rooms' as they were called at the time. They were powered by using the City's water pressure. The original VIP lounge (now refurbished as the Reunion Bar) allowed access directly to the Orient Express.

Houses of Parliament
There are over 2 miles of passages in the Houses of Parliament.
The Houses of Parliament, as a Royal palace, are technically exempt from the smoking ban and the 19 Bars in the House of Commons operate without a licence. However, there is a snuffbox by the front door of the Commons. It’s been there for 300 years and it’s always full of snuff. This is because smoking has not been allowed in the actual chamber of the House of Commons since the 17th century.The 'HP' in HP Sauce stands for Houses of Parliament. The tangy condiment was so popular in one of the MPs restaurants, they renamed it.

Little Ben
A small 20 ft version of Big Ben stands on a traffic island outside the Victoria Palace Theatre. It was erected in 1891 with sponsorship from Elf Aquitaine Ltd as a gift of anglo-french friendship. The clock is always on French time.

Methodist Central Hall
On the north side of Broad Sanctuary is Central Hall, where the United Nations General Assembly had its first session in 1946. Ghandi also spoke here in 1932 and General De Gaulle started the Free French movement here.
It was previously 'the Royal Aquarium'. Built for the Victorians, it was covered with a roof of glass and iron and decorated with palm trees, fountains, pieces of original sculpture, thirteen large tanks meant to be filled with curious sea creatures and an orchestra capable of accommodating 400 performers. 

Parliament Square
Parliament Square was Britain’s first roundabout (1926).

Queen Anne's Gate
Some of the doors on Queen Anne’s Gate have wooden canopies carved by shipwrights laid off by the Admiralty to save money (sounds familiar) towards the end of the seventeenth century. Some also have wooden cornices (banned by law in 1707 with the intention of preventing fires). You can also see the remaining conical ‘hats’ into which you’d snuff the torch that lit your way home.

The Army and Navy Stores
Rebranded as House of Fraser in 2005, the original Army and Navy department store on Victoria Street served the armed forces and shipped everything from jam to whisky and guns, to the officers out in the colonies.

Tothill Fields House of Correction
The House of Correction covered 8 acres south of Victoria Street between 1618 and 1884. When it was demolished the stone was used for the foundations of Westminster Cathedral. All that remains now is a stone gateway re-sited on Little Sanctuary.

Two Chairmen Pub, Dartmouth Street
On the corner of Queen Anne's Gate and Dartmouth Street, was once a hiring point for sedan chairs, when the nearby Cockpit Steps was still the site of the Royal Cock pit.

Victoria Station
Victoria is the UK's second busiest station with 75 million passengers each year. It even had a Royal Waiting Room (now a retail stock room) with grand pillars still standing outside to welcome the Royal party when they wanted to get the train.

Westminster Abbey
'St Peter at Westminster' is the formal name of Westminster Abbey. During the dissolution of the monasteries part of the Abbey revenues were transferred to St Pauls, hence the expression "robbing Peter to pay Paul".

Westminster Cathedral
Westminster Cathedral was built in 1903, filling a site previously occupied by the Tothill Fields Prison.