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Downing Street
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Downing Street is the street in London, England, which for over two hundred years has contained the official residences of two of the most senior British cabinet ministers: the First Lord of the Treasury, an office held by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and the Second Lord of the Treasury, an office held by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The most famous address in Downing Street is 10 Downing Street, the official residence of the First Lord of the Treasury—and thus, in modern times, the residence of the Prime Minister, since the two roles have usually been filled by the same person (exclusively so since 1902).
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Encyclopedia
Downing Street is the street in London, England, which for over two hundred years has contained the official residences of two of the most senior British cabinet ministers: the First Lord of the Treasury, an office held by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and the Second Lord of the Treasury, an office held by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The most famous address in Downing Street is 10 Downing Street, the official residence of the First Lord of the Treasury—and thus, in modern times, the residence of the Prime Minister, since the two roles have usually been filled by the same person (exclusively so since 1902). As a result of this, Downing Street or Number 10 is often used as a metonym for the Prime Minister or his or her office, while Number 11 is likewise a term for the Chancellor of the Exchequer or his or her office.
Downing Street is located in Whitehall in central London, a few minutes' walk from the Houses of Parliament and a little further from Buckingham Palace. The street was built in the 1680s by Sir George Downing, 1st Baronet (1632–1689) on the site of a mansion called Hampden House. Downing was a soldier and diplomat who served under Oliver Cromwell and King Charles II. In the service of the King he was rewarded with the plot of land adjoining St James's Park upon which Downing Street now stands. The Prime Minister, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and the Chief Whip all have official residences in buildings along one side of the street. The houses on the other side were all replaced by the Foreign Office in the nineteenth century.
Houses in Downing Street
9 Downing Street was named in 2001 and is the Downing Street entrance to the Privy Council Office and currently houses the Chief Whip's office. It was formerly part of Number 10.
10 Downing Street is the official residence of the First Lord of the Treasury, and thus the residence of the British Prime Minister, as in modern times, the two roles have been filled by the same person. It has fulfilled this role since 1735.
11 Downing Street and has been the official residence of the Second Lord of the Treasury since 1828, and thus the residence of the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
12 Downing Street, formerly the Chief Whip's Office, currently houses the Prime Minister's Press Office, Strategic Communications Unit and Information and Research Unit. In the 1820s it was occupied by the Judge Advocate-General, although it remained in private ownership. It entered government hands when purchased by the East India Company in 1863, and became occupied by the marine and railway departments of the Board of Trade. It was originally Number 13, but was partially re-built and re-numbered following the demolition of Number 14 in 1876. It was badly damaged by a fire in 1879, and underwent further changes as a result.
14 Downing Street formerly closed off the western end of the street. It was acquired by the Crown in 1798, and was used by the War Office and Colonial Office in the 19th century. Some parts were demolished in the 1860s, and by 1876 it had been removed completely.
15-16 Downing Street, long since demolished, formerly held the Foreign Office, which also occupied two houses on the west side of the street.
18 Downing Street was occupied by the West India Department of the Colonial Office.
20 Downing Street was occupied by the Tithe Commission.
The houses at the end of the street were arranged around a square, Downing Square.
Throughout the history of these houses, ministers have lived by agreement in whatever rooms they thought necessary. On some occasions Number 11 has been occupied not by the Chancellor of the Exchequer but by the individual considered to be the nominal deputy Prime Minister (whether or not they actually took the title); this was particularly common in coalition governments. Sometimes a minister will only use their Downing Street flat for formal occasions and otherwise live elsewhere.
During his last period in office, in 1881, William Gladstone claimed residence in numbers 10, 11 and 12 for himself and his family. He was both Chancellor of the Exchequer and Prime Minister at the time.
After the 1997 General Election, in which Labour took power, a swap was carried out by the then-incumbents of the two titles, Tony Blair being a married man with three children still living at home, while his counterpart, Gordon Brown, was unmarried at the time of taking up his post. Although Number 10 continued to be the Prime Minister's official residence and contain the prime ministerial offices, Blair and his family actually moved into the more spacious Number 11, while Brown lived in the more meagre apartments of Number 10. This is the second time this has occurred; Stafford Northcote lived in Number 10 at one point, while Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli occupied Number 11. Interestingly, this event was for precisely the opposite reason—at the time, Number 10 was the more spacious apartment and Sir Stafford had a larger family.
History
The houses between Number 10 and Whitehall were taken over by the government and demolished in 1824 to allow the construction of the Privy Council Office, Board of Trade and Treasury offices.
In 1861 the houses on the west side of Downing Street gave way to new purpose-build government offices for the Foreign Office, India Office, Colonial Office, and the Home Office.
Downing Street gates
The first barriers in Downing Street were erected at the St. James's Park end of the street for the unveiling of the Cenotaph on November 11 1920. They were a public safety measure intended to prevent the crowds in Whitehall becoming too dense.
With the movement for Irish independence increasing in violence, it was decided that these barriers would be retained, and raised and strengthened. In addition, on November 26 1920 construction commenced on a substantial woodenen barricade, high, were erected at the end of the street. These were described as being of a substantial character" mounted into proper foundations. Vehicle gates were included in the barrier. The barriers were taken down in 1922 with the creation of the Irish Free State, but vehicle access has been curtailed since 1973 when metal barriers were placed across the entrance to the street.
In 1974, the Metropolitan Police proposed erecting a semi-permanent barrier between the pavement and carriageway on the Foreign Office side of the street, to keep pedestrians off the main part of the street. The proposal came with assurances that tourists would still be permitted to take photographs at the door of Number 10. However then Prime Minister, Harold Wilson rejected the proposal, feeling that it would appear to be an unacceptable restriction of the freedom of the public. Wilson's private secretary wrote "I much regret this further erosion of the Englishman's right to wander at will in Downing Street."
In 1982 access was more fully restricted with railings and a demountable gate. This was replaced by the current black steel gates in 1989. The increase in security was again due to an increase in violence, particularly by the Provisional IRA.
Public right of way
The public right of way along Downing Street has not been extinguished or subject to a gating order under the Highways Act 1980. The road retains the status of a public highway maintained by Westminster City Council. Public access is instead curtailed by the use of common law powers to prevent breach of the peace.
Although the Downing Street government buildings and grounds are a designated site under the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 for criminal trespass, the actual street was not included within the boundaries of the designated area.
Security
Since 1989 entering Downing Street has required passing through a security checkpoint. The street is patrolled by armed police, and there is always at least one police officer outside the door of Number 10.
See also
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