Churchill War Rooms

Facts and information

Address:: Churchill War Rooms, Clive Steps, King Charles Street, Westminster,
London SW1A 2AQ
England
Website:: cwr.iwm.org.uk
Opening times:: 9.30 AM to 6 PM (daily); Last admission 5 PM
Cost:: Adults £15.95; Children free (under-16); Note: Opening times & prices are subject to change, and may not apply on public holidays. Always reconfirm with the venue before making plans.
Telephone:: Work +44 (0) 207 930 6961
Buses:: 3 11 12 24 53 87 88 148 159 214 453
Trains:: Charing Cross BKL NRN, St. James’s Park CRC DSC, Westminster CRC DSC JUB Note: The nearest train station to Churchill War Rooms is Westminster. We can help you find the best route from any other train station:
Train journey to Churchill War Rooms

Entrance to the Churchill War Rooms in Whitehall

^{Churchill War Rooms, Whitehall} Entrance to the Cabinet War Rooms in London

^{Entrance to the Churchill War Rooms}

Did you know… One of the maps in the Map Room contains an amusing doodle of Hitler knocked flat on his back. It is rumoured to have been drawn by Churchill himself.

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The Churchill War Rooms (once known as the ‘Cabinet War Rooms’) played host to Winston Churchill and his wartime government during the dark days of World War II. Safe in their underground rooms beneath London’s Whitehall, they met and slept in bunkers to plan Hitler’s defeat.

History of the Cabinet War Rooms

The War Rooms can be found ten feet below London, near Downing Street and the Houses of Parliament. They stretch over an area of three acres, and include a shooting range, canteen and hospital. The vast majority of the rooms are rather routine, and tickets for the tour are limited to those involved in wartime planning.

The corridors are rather narrow – but the rooms have been rid of their doors so you can peer inside. As you meander through the complex the sound of falling bombs, air-raid sirens, and the hurried steps on metal stairs punctuates the air.

The rooms under Whitehall

The Prime Minister’s Room was where Churchill made his broadcasts to the nation. He frequently slept inside when the bombing raids made it too dangerous to get to Downing Street. Included are his original bed, desk and maps upon the wall. You can even seen one of his famous cigars on the bedside table.

The Cabinet Room was where Churchill met his Chiefs of Staff. The room has been festooned with the original papers strewn across the tabletops to get a feeling for the atmosphere.

The Map Room was perhaps the most important room in the whole complex. You can still see the original pin-riddled charts on the wall. It was closed down immediately after VE day, and has remained undisturbed ever since.

The Transatlantic Telephone Room was how London kept in touch with Washington. The room seems remarkably small nowadays, and that’s because it was – it used to be a broom cupboard!

The top-secret telephone installation (codenamed Sigsaly) had a scrambler located in the basement of Selfridges in Oxford Street, and enabled Churchill to talk to Roosevelt in complete privacy.

Winston Churchill Museum

The complex also incorporates the Churchill Museum, containing transcripts of his famous speeches (played for the visitor as they stand in front of the TV screen). Footage from his State funeral is included too, as are many of his clothes and personal effects.

>> Drummerboy’s blog – Churchill War Rooms

Drummerboy – “I went to the Churchill War Rooms today and it was pretty good. I thought it was going to be deep underground like a concrete bunker, but it was nothing like that. It was literally just ten steps down from the street. They give you one of those big listening devices when you go in that looks like a 1980s mobile phone. Every time you pass a room there is a number on the wall and you have to type it in to get the commentary. It’s quite atmospheric down there. It must have been pretty dark and smokey, judging by all the 1940s fag packets on the tables… continued.”

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ian meyer – “Very atmospheric. I loved seeing Winston Churchill's little bedroom. We're not talking the Ritz here, it's just a concrete room with gray walls and some okay furniture in it. You can just imagine him sitting in there with teh sound of bombs falling twenty… read the full review”
peter – “This is a top notch day out! I was amazed at how unsafe the place was. These days they would probably be in a nuclear bomb proof bunker a mile under ground, or buried inside a mountain. But back then all the had was some concrete walls in the basement of t… read the full review”