Why Henry VIII’s Hidden Vault Was Sunk Beneath Whitehall

Beneath the Ministry of Defence in Whitehall sits a Tudor wine cellar, nearly 19 feet lower than where it was built. It began around 1530 as part of Cardinal Wolsey's York Place, before Henry VIII took it into his palace. It came through the fire of 1698 with the King's wine still inside, became the bottom storey of a Georgian house where William Pitt once lived, and by 1930 was a lunch room for Ministry of Transport staff. Then a promise made in 1938, at Queen Mary's request, ran into the route of a new road. This is the story of why the cellar was wrapped in concrete, rolled sideways and lowered beneath Whitehall. Sources: Historic England, list entry 1278223: https://www.historicengland.org.uk/li... Survey of London, vol. 13 (1930), Cadogan House and Cromwell House: https://archive.british-history.ac.uk... Ministry of Defence, The Old War Office Building: A history (2001): https://assets.publishing.service.gov... Nicola Twilley, The Last Places, Edible Geography (2013): https://www.ediblegeography.com/the-l... MoD Defence Imagery, Henry VIII's Wine Cellar: https://www.flickr.com/photos/defence... Historic Royal Palaces, Henry VIII's Whitehall Palace archaeology: https://www.hrp.org.uk/blog/henry-vii...