Skipton House

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The imposing entrance

Skipton House is an office block in Elephant and Castle, central London.

It was built for a Japanese bank and then sold on to accommodate staff of the Department of Health who were moved out of Alexander Fleming House. The project architect was Paul Cayford. Its address is 80 London Road SE1, next to the Bakerloo Line entrance to Elephant and Castle station. It was opened by Virginia Bottomley, who was then Secretary of State for Health, on 15 February 1993. Its floor area is 250,000 sq ft.

From outside, the two outstanding characteristics are the dark brown marble cladding and the impressive entranceway. Inside, there is a large central atrium, and some floors have open balconies overlooking the atrium.

When the Health and Social Care Information Centre was created on April 1, 2005 its London office was in Skipton House. It has since moved out to far-flung places such as Leeds, West Yorkshire. Furthermore, during 2005 substantial numbers of Department of Health staff were moved in from other buildings where the lease had expired.

Skipton House has a very good restaurant, although one sometimes has to wait for some items of the breakfast menu.