June 27, 2025

Reception at the British Embassy in Washington

A Friday evening reception at the British Embassy has just been added to this year’s International Churchill Conference, which will take place in Washington, D.C. next October 9–11. Winston Churchill visited the embassy during each of his wartime visits to the United States and stayed in the Ambassador’s residence during his postwar visits. Tickets for the conference are currently on sale. For more information about the program and to register, please CLICK HERE.

The British government was the first to build an embassy in the area of Washington that came to be known as Embassy Row. The Ambassador’s Residence was designed in 1928 by Sir Edward Lutyens to resemble a country manor and is the only building in North America designed by the famous architect, whose work also includes the official residence of the President of India in Delhi.

Standing outside the embassy is a nine-foot (2.7 m) statue of Winston Churchill commissioned by the English-Speaking Union. Dedicated in 1966, the statue was the work of American sculptor William M. McVey. Famously, the statue is positioned so that Churchill’s right foot stands on US soil while his left foot remains on the grounds of the Embassy, placing it on UK soil—a testament to Churchill’s Anglo-American heritage and dual citizenship.

While preparing for his 1952 address to Congress, Churchill was found to be still in bed at the Ambassador’s residence arguing about the final version of the text with one of his private secretaries barely an hour before he was due to start his speech. Finally, “the PM got up, was quickly dressed, and with the assistance of a motorcycle escort, reached the Capitol on time.”

2025 International Churchill Conference

Join us for the 42nd International Churchill Conference. Washington, DC | October 9-11, 2025

2025 International Churchill Conference

Join us for a visit to this historic Churchillian venue in the heart of the American capital.