Inside Churchill's wartime HQ - Dairo Vargas

A LUXURY DESIGNED APARTMENT FULL OF SURPRISES by BY KAREN DARLOW

This Raffles branded apartment has a fascinating history, but its luxurious interiors are forward thinking and very now

 

If this imposing London building looks familiar, you've either watched a lot of 1980s' James Bond movies, where it was the spy's MI6 headquarters, or you've seen World War II footage with this striking backdrop when it was Britain's military headquarters under Winston Churchill's premiership. Churchill first took up office here as Secretary of State for War in 1919. Other notable tenants of The Old War Office included TE Lawrence (of Arabia) in 1915, and the disgraced minister John Profumo who resigned from here in 1963. 

 

In whatever guise you knew it previously, prepare to look at The Old War Office in a totally new light. 

 

Closed to the public for more than a century, the 1906 neo-baroque style building is now owned by Hinduja Group. In a partnership with Raffles Singapore, the central London site has been redeveloped as a luxury 120-room Raffles hotel with a further 85 Raffles-branded residences. Sales prices for a two-bedroom apartment here start at around 6.7 million USD. 

September 2, 2022