Downing Street
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Downing Street is the street in London, which contains the buildings that have been, for over two hundred years, 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 been filled by the same person. As a result of this "Downing Street" or "Number 10" is often used as short-hand for the Prime Minister or their office, whilst "Number 11" is likewise a term for the Chancellor of the Exchequer or their office.
Downing Street is located in Whitehall in central London, a few minutes' walk from the Houses of Parliament and on the edge of the grounds of Buckingham Palace. The street was built by and named after Sir George Downing, 1st Baronet (1632–1689). 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 officially live in houses on one side of the street. The houses on the other side were all replaced by the massive Foreign Office in the nineteenth century. In the 1950s and 1960s, plans were considered to demolish both the Foreign Office and the rest of Downing Street and build "something more modern". However the plans were never implemented and have long since been abandoned.
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[edit] Who lives where
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.
11 Downing Street is the home of the Second Lord of the Treasury, and thus the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
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.
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.
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 take 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. This was reasonable since 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 present incumbents of the two titles, Tony Blair being a married man with three children still living at home, whilst 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, whilst the Prime Minister at the time lived in 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.
[edit] Downing Street gates
In 1989 large, black, steel gates were erected at each end of Downing Street to protect the Prime Minister (then Margaret Thatcher) from terrorist attack, particularly from the Provisional IRA.
[edit] Security
Entering Downing street as a guest requires passing through a security checkpoint. The street is patrolled by armed guards, and there is always at least one guard outside number 10
[edit] See also
