Tour of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
Tour of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
Date: Friday 23 October 2026
Time: 11:30am
Venue: Foreign Office, King Charles Street, London SW1A 2AH
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (“the Foreign Office”) was built by Sir George Gilbert Scott between 1861-8 in Victorian Italianate style, at the insistence of the Prime Minister, Lord Palmerston, at broadly the same time as St Pancras Station, which Scott designed in his favoured Gothic style.
The building originally also housed the India Office, the courtyard and interiors of which were designed by Sir Mathew Digby Wyatt. Scott was responsible for remaining interiors.
Photo: ‘Colin’
After the Mutiny in 1857, the British Government decided to wind up the East India Company and to demolish East India House in Leadenhall Street. Its contents, including the Indian Museum, the library, the paintings and sculptures, were temporarily housed in Fife House in Whitehall before moving into the newly completed India Office in 1868. Thereafter parts were sent to the British Museum and the South Kensington Museum or scattered elsewhere but much was integrated into the India Office or the greater Foreign Office.
Our Tour will be conducted by Dr Luke Gibbon and/or Dr Richard Smith, historians at the FCDO and will cover the architecture, the art work and the history of the of the India Office building. It will last about 1½ hours and will start at 11:30am.
Numbers are limited to 15 but, if there is sufficient demand, a further tour may be organised in early 2027. The tour is free and available to members of BACSA only.
Travel: You will be expected to make your own way to the Foreign Office at King Charles St, London SW1A 2AH. The nearest underground station is Westminster.
Lunch: It is anticipated that there will be a party going for lunch afterwards which you would be very welcome to join.
Booking will open on the website on Thursday 24 September. If you prefer not to use the website, please e-mail chairman@bacsa.org.uk. Bookings will be taken on a first come, first served basis.