Shell Mex House
Infrared converted Canon G10
Shell Mex House is situated at number 80, Strand, London, UK. The current building was built in 1930-31 on the site of the Hotel Cecil and stands behind the original facade of the Hotel and between the Adelphi and the Savoy Hotel. Broadly Art Deco in style, it was designed by the architectural firm of Messrs Joseph, with F. Milton Cashmore responsible for most of the work.
Standing 58 m (190 ft) tall, with 537,000 sq ft (49,900 m2) of floor space, Shell Mex House has 12 floors (plus basement and sub-basement) and is immediately recognizable from the River Thames and the South Bank by the clock tower positioned on the south side of the building (flanked by two large, hieratic figures at the south corners). The clock, which was known for a time as "Big Benzene", is one of the biggest in London. It is known for its face looking towards the river, but also has a face looking towards the Strand. In the words of architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner, the building "is thoroughly unsubtle, but succeeds in holding its own in London's river front."
The building was for many years the London headquarters of Shell-Mex and BP Ltd for whom it was originally built. Shell-Mex and BP Ltd was a Joint Venture company created by Shell and British Petroleum in 1932 when they decided to merge their United Kingdom marketing operations.[1] Upon the "Brand Separation" of Shell-Mex and BP Ltd in 1975, Shell Mex House became the head office of Shell UK Ltd, which was Shell's "UK operating company". Changes in the way that Shell was run in the 1990s led to the disposal of the property by Shell. Today, simply known as 80 Strand, most of its floors are occupied by companies belonging to Pearson PLC, who use it as their registered office, including Mergermarket, Penguin Books, Dorling Kindersley, Hamish Hamilton, Michael Joseph and Rough Guides.
Other notable businesses in this building are Groupe Aeroplan, which manages the Nectar loyalty card, and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
The entrance of the building, which is set back from the Strand, is through a large gated archway. A green plaque was affixed to the wall just inside the gate in March 2008, proclaiming: The Royal Air force was formed and had its first headquarters here in the former Hotel Cecil 1 April 1918. Below it is a brass plate stating: This plaque was unveiled by the chief of air staff Air Chief Marshall Sir Glenn Torpy KCB CBE DSO ADC to mark the 90th anniversary of the formation of the Royal Air Force.[2]
During the Second World War, the building became home to the Ministry of Supply which co-ordinated supply of equipment to the national armed forces. It was also the home of the "Petroleum Board" which handled the distribution and rationing of petroleum products during the war. It was badly damaged by a bomb in 1940. The building reverted to Shell-Mex and BP Ltd on 1 July 1948 with a number of floors remaining occupied by the Ministry of Aviation (latterly the Board of Trade, Civil Aviation Division) until the mid-1970s.
Shell Mex House
Infrared converted Canon G10
Shell Mex House is situated at number 80, Strand, London, UK. The current building was built in 1930-31 on the site of the Hotel Cecil and stands behind the original facade of the Hotel and between the Adelphi and the Savoy Hotel. Broadly Art Deco in style, it was designed by the architectural firm of Messrs Joseph, with F. Milton Cashmore responsible for most of the work.
Standing 58 m (190 ft) tall, with 537,000 sq ft (49,900 m2) of floor space, Shell Mex House has 12 floors (plus basement and sub-basement) and is immediately recognizable from the River Thames and the South Bank by the clock tower positioned on the south side of the building (flanked by two large, hieratic figures at the south corners). The clock, which was known for a time as "Big Benzene", is one of the biggest in London. It is known for its face looking towards the river, but also has a face looking towards the Strand. In the words of architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner, the building "is thoroughly unsubtle, but succeeds in holding its own in London's river front."
The building was for many years the London headquarters of Shell-Mex and BP Ltd for whom it was originally built. Shell-Mex and BP Ltd was a Joint Venture company created by Shell and British Petroleum in 1932 when they decided to merge their United Kingdom marketing operations.[1] Upon the "Brand Separation" of Shell-Mex and BP Ltd in 1975, Shell Mex House became the head office of Shell UK Ltd, which was Shell's "UK operating company". Changes in the way that Shell was run in the 1990s led to the disposal of the property by Shell. Today, simply known as 80 Strand, most of its floors are occupied by companies belonging to Pearson PLC, who use it as their registered office, including Mergermarket, Penguin Books, Dorling Kindersley, Hamish Hamilton, Michael Joseph and Rough Guides.
Other notable businesses in this building are Groupe Aeroplan, which manages the Nectar loyalty card, and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
The entrance of the building, which is set back from the Strand, is through a large gated archway. A green plaque was affixed to the wall just inside the gate in March 2008, proclaiming: The Royal Air force was formed and had its first headquarters here in the former Hotel Cecil 1 April 1918. Below it is a brass plate stating: This plaque was unveiled by the chief of air staff Air Chief Marshall Sir Glenn Torpy KCB CBE DSO ADC to mark the 90th anniversary of the formation of the Royal Air Force.[2]
During the Second World War, the building became home to the Ministry of Supply which co-ordinated supply of equipment to the national armed forces. It was also the home of the "Petroleum Board" which handled the distribution and rationing of petroleum products during the war. It was badly damaged by a bomb in 1940. The building reverted to Shell-Mex and BP Ltd on 1 July 1948 with a number of floors remaining occupied by the Ministry of Aviation (latterly the Board of Trade, Civil Aviation Division) until the mid-1970s.