Fascinating historical corporate venue in Central London, celebrating wartime Britain in style
In May 1940, the newly appointed Prime Minister Winston Churchill visited this subterranean, purpose-built venue and declared; ‘this is a room from which I will direct the war’. The Cabinet War Rooms concealed the operations of the British military throughout WW2, and was sealed indefinitely in August 1945.
This fascinating and totally unique venue has now re-opened its doors as a conferencing and party destination, and offers a mesmerizing backdrop for a range of events.
It has acted as a film location for several period dramas, and still features the walls of buttons, telephones and Morse code machines that helped Britain to organise troops and civilians on a global level.
An intriguing piece of living history, this maze of rooms was once alive with 24-hour planning, plotting, secret keeping and scheduling. You and your delegates can explore the historic rooms for yourself by indulging in a guided tour, which will give you a humbling and stimulating sense of what it was like to work in this all-important hub of 1940’s England. You can see the very chair from which Churchill commanded his meetings, complete with the eerie scratch marks on the arms – a nail-biting reminder of the intense pressure he was under during those terrible years.
The Map Room, which was the heart of the operation, has remained exactly as it was when the doors were closed in 1945. The colour-coded telephones, the documents still piled on desks, and even John Heagarty’s rationed sugar cubes can be found here. The main attraction of this room is, of course, the maps covering the walls – which still feature thousands of tiny pinholes, marking the movements of allied ships across the world during the last weeks of the second Great War.
This is a motivating and thought-provoking place to have a business meeting, and the atmosphere of greatness and success is certain to put you, your colleagues and your delegates in the mood to achieve new heights in business. The Switch Room Café serves hot food until 3pm, so your lunch can be enjoyed with a healthy dose of thought-provoking conversation about this unusual and one-of-a-kind venue.
While The Cabinet Rooms are intentionally stuck in the 1940’s, there is also a contemporary conferencing suite called the HCA Auditorium, able to hold 150 people in theatre style and boasting the very latest in AV equipment. It still retains the original features of the war bunker, and has a sense of drama and greatness that is difficult to find in mode buildings.
Call Function Fixers now to arrange a site visit to this incredible, sobering and beautiful piece of British history.
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