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London Olympics Information » Venues » Horse Guards Parade » About Horse Guards Parade
About Horse Guards Parade
Official site
http://www.horse-guards-parade-london.co.uk/
Capacity: 15,000
Location: SW1A
Status
Two temporary stadia with a seating capacity of 15,000 will be constructed for the event. The temporary facilities are to be dismantled after the games.
About Horse Guards Parade
Henry VIII took over the York Place in 1529 and renamed it Whitehall Palace and made it the London residence of the Archbishop of York. He extended the already enormous structure and created a huge space/tiltyard for jousting tournaments, in which he himself sometimes participated. The present day Horse Guards Parade stands on this very site. Queen Elizabeth I, King Henry's daughter, was similarly fond of watching the sport of jousting and initiated a new tradition of two annual jousting festivals. One of the festivals was held on her birthday which fell on the 7th September and the other on the anniversary of her coronation. These serve as a prelude to the Trooping the Colour Ceremony which is held every year to celebrate the official Birthday of the Sovereign.
Charles I came to power in 1625, after Queen Elizabeth's death and a short reign of his father, James I. His policies made him unpopular with the Parliament of England. This led to the English Civil War, and Charles I was executed at the end of the conflict in January, 1649. For the execution, he was made to walk from St James's Palace, through the present day Horse Guards Parade to the Banqueting House. Charles II came to power in 1660 and laid the groundwork for the Horse Guards building. He constructed the building to accommodate the Household Cavalry sentries, overlooking the Tiltyard, as a security measure for the royal family.
A fire destroyed most of the Whitehall Palace in 1698. Although the buildings that housed the guards survived, they were greatly dilapidated by 1745. George II with the help of his chef architect, William Kent, replaced the damaged building with a new one. The prominent arch at the Horse Guards building is the exact replica of the older version. After reconstruction, the Horse Guards housed the court-martial office, a chapel, and military offices over the archway and The Life Guards and Royal Horse Guards on the ground floor.
St. James's Park is to the west of the parade ground, whilst to the east is the Horse Guards building. Old Admiralty and the Admiralty Citadel are to the north, and the back side wall of the Prime Minister's residence, 10 Downing Street, is to the south.
The outer-side ring of the parade ground is adorned with a number of military monuments and trophies which include statues of Field Marshals Kitchner, Roberts, Wolseley and the Queen's cousin Lord Mountbatten, a Turkish gun made in 1524 and a cast iron Chinese dragon.
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