Horse Guards Avenue

Horse Guards Avenue is a road in the City of Westminster, London, linking the major thoroughfares of Whitehall and Victoria Embankment, to the east of the Horse Guards building and parade area. It is not to be confused with Horse Guards Road, which is on the opposite (west) side of the Horse Guards building. The entrance of the Main Building of the Ministry of Defence (MoD), flanked by its monumental Earth and Water statues, opens onto the Avenue. A statue of a Gurkha soldier, unveiled in 1997, stands as a memorial in front of the Ministry of Defence.

The Avenue falls entirely within the area once occupied by the Palace of Whitehall, which was almost completely destroyed by fire in 1698, save for the now historic listed building, Banqueting House. It was originally a narrow street called Whitehall Yard on which stood a number of houses, most notably Carrington House, the residence of Lord Carrington. The building was demolished in 1896 to make room for the widening of the street preparatory to the construction of the War Office building. The Avenue was planned as part of a subsequent project to build a large Government building, begun in 1909 but not completed until 1951. On completion, the Avenue formed the northern boundary of this new building, which since 1964 has been used as the Main Building of the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

Horse Guards Avenue, running from west to east, connects the major north-south thoroughfares of Whitehall and Embankment. Beginning at a T junction with Whitehall at a point opposite the Horse Guards building, the Avenue continues eastward to another T junction on Embankment. Approximately 600 feet (180 m) long, it provides for a single lane of widely separated traffic in each direction, with a slight curve bowing its course to the north midway along.

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