140 Gower Street was the headquarters of the Security Service (MI5) from 1976 to 1994. The site was acquired by the Wellcome Foundation in 1998.

History

In the late 19th century the site at 140 Gower Street was occupied by a modest three-story building which was used by George J. W. Pitman, book publishers. Then in the first half of the 20th century the same building was used for the secondhand book section of H.K. Lewis & Company, book sellers. In 1950 the site was acquired by a property developer. After the bookshop was demolished, the site was redeveloped and a new ten-story building constructed in the early 1950s. The new building was occupied by various government offices including the

Commission on Industrial Relations The Commission on Industrial Relations (also known as the Walsh Commission) p. 12. was a commission created by the U.S. Congress on August 23, 1912, to scrutinize US labor law. The commission studied work conditions throughout the industrial Uni ...

. The Security Service (MI5), who had relocated from

Leconfield House Leconfield House is a building in Mayfair, London. It was the headquarters of the Security Service (MI5) from 1945 to 1976. History Early history The site at the junction of South Audley Street and Curzon Street was occupied in the second half ...

, occupied the new building, known simply as "140 Gower Street", in 1976: the

Director-General A director general or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'' ) or general director is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer, within a government ...

's office was on the 6th floor. MI5 moved out of the building to

Thames House Thames House is an office building in Millbank, London, on the north bank of the River Thames adjacent to Lambeth Bridge. Originally used as offices by Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI), it has served as the headquarters of the United Kingdom' ...

in 1994 and the site was acquired by the

Wellcome Foundation The Wellcome Trust is a charitable foundation focused on health research based in London, in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1936 with legacies from the pharmaceutical magnate Henry Wellcome (founder of one of the predecessors of Glax ...

in 1998 and then redeveloped as "Babcock House".

References

{{reflist, 30em Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Camden MI5