One Whitehall Place

Established as the National Liberal Club this grand building with period decor is now available to hire for private and corporate events. The Gladstone Library along with The Reading and Writing Rooms are the stand out spaces, perfect for a variety of events including gala dinners, weddings, corporate balls, conferences and receptions. Now annexed to 5-star hotel The Royal Horseguards, guests at One Whitehall are treated to culinary delights by a team of talented chefs.

One Whitehall Place is an impressive and historic venue located on the Embankment in central London. The National Liberal Club (NLC), was established on the site by William Ewart Gladstone in 1884 for the purpose of providing club facilities for Liberal Party campaigners. This striking neo-Gothic building overlooking the River Thames is the second-largest clubhouse ever built. Designed by Alfred Waterhouse, it was completed in 1887. One Whitehall Place is now part of The Royal Horseguards Hotel. The One Whitehall Place event spaces retain features of their original decor from the late 1800s. This includes magnificent tiled pillars, fireplaces, high ceilings and glittering chandeliers. With its period decor, grand marble staircase and spectacular views over the Thames, One Whitehall Place offers truly magnificent settings for gala dinners, weddings and receptions.

The Gladstone library is One Whitehall's most impressive space. This unique space is lined floor to ceiling with replica books and accommodates up to 300 people in theatre style. The space can also be used in conjunction with the adjoining Reading and Writing Room. The windows of the stunning Reading and Writing Room provide enviable views of London, looking out across the river to the South Bank. The space can accommodate 120 people seated and is perfect for banquets, board meetings, conferences and weddings.

In addition, the remarkable Whitehall Suite is a mirror of the Gladstone library directly above it. Built as the club's Billiards room, the walls still retain striking Faience tiles. The room can comfortably accommodate 240 people in theatre style; making it perfect for Christmas parties, conferences and receptions. Churchill's Bar, a secret space in One Whitehall, is a private and intimate venue that once watered the likes of H.H Asquith, Lloyd George and Churchill himself. Ideal for a pre-dinner reception, corporate function or celebration, this little known space is not to be missed. The Meston Suite and River Room are ideal for more intimate functions with seating for up to 70. Floor to ceiling windows command an impressive view of the original Ministry of Defence or out across Victoria Embankment and the river. They are the perfect spaces for private dining or more intimate drinks receptions.

The National Liberal Club or NLC was established by Gladstone in 1884 as a space for himself and his followers to launch their political campaigns. The foundation stone in its cellars was laid by William Gladstone himself, one of five Club members who went on to serve as Prime Minister. Winston Churchill is one of the clubs most famous members. It was the first London building to incorporate a lift, and the first to be entirely lit throughout by electric lighting.

To provide its electricity, the Whitehall Supply Co. Ltd. was incorporated in 1887, being based underneath the club's raised terrace. By the time the supply opened in 1888, it had been bought by the expanding Metropolitan Electricity Supply Co. NLC members were so enamoured with the modern wonder of electric lighting that the original chandeliers featured bare light bulbs, whose distinctive hue was much prized at the time. The club's wine cellar was converted from a trench dug in 1865, intended to be the Waterloo and Whitehall Railway, stretching from Scotland Yard to Waterloo station, which planned to carry freight that would have been powered by air pressure; digging was abandoned in 1868, and when the company wound up in 1882, the National Liberal Club adapted the tunnel to its present use.

During the blitz in World War II, the building sustained a direct hit by a Luftwaffe bomb causing considerable damage to the central staircase. The historic building continues to be used by politicians as a critical meeting place and was the needed venue for a prominent meeting last autumn between the Treasury and a number of British banks.