Downing Street
Namesake | Sir George Downing, 1st Baronet |
---|---|
Owner | UK Government |
Length | 217 m (712 ft) |
Postal code | SW1A |
Coordinates | 51°30′12″N 0°07′39″W / 51.5034°N 0.1276°W |
From | Whitehall |
Construction | |
Completion | 1680 |
Other | |
Known for | Official residences and offices of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office and the Chancellor of the Exchequer |
Status | Closed to public |
Downing Street is a street in
For more than three hundred years, it has held the official residences of both the
The term "Downing Street" is also used as a metonym for the Prime Minister or the British Government more generally.
History
The street was built in the 1680s by
Downing was a soldier and diplomat who served under Oliver Cromwell and King Charles II, and who invested in properties and acquired considerable wealth.[2][3][4] In 1654, he purchased the lease on land east of St James's Park, adjacent to the House at the Back, and within walking distance of Parliament. Downing planned to build a row of townhouses "for persons of good quality to inhabit".[5] However, the Hampden family had a lease which prevented their construction for 30 years.[6] When the Hampden lease expired, Downing received permission to build further west to take advantage of recent developments. The new warrant issued in 1682 reads: "Sir George Downing ... [is authorised] to build new and more houses further westward on the grounds granted him by the patent of 1663/4 Feb. 23. The present grant is by reason that the said Cockpit or the greater part thereof is since demolished; but it is to be subject to the proviso that it be not built any nearer than 14 feet of the wall of the said Park at the West end thereof."[5]
Between 1682 and 1684, Downing built the
The upper end of the Downing Street cul-de-sac closed access to St James's Park, making the street quiet and private. An advertisement in 1720 described it as "a pretty open Place, especially at the upper end, where are four or five very large and well-built Houses, fit for Persons of Honour and Quality; each House having a pleasant Prospect into St James's Park, with a Tarras Walk".[9] The houses had several distinguished residents. The Countess of Yarmouth lived at Number 10 between 1688 and 1689, Lord Lansdowne from 1692 to 1696 and the Earl of Grantham from 1699 to 1703. The diarist James Boswell took rooms in Downing Street during his stay in London during 1762–63 at a rent of £22 per annum. He records having dealings with prostitutes in the adjacent park.
Downing probably never lived in his townhouses. In 1675, he retired to Cambridge, where he died a few months after the houses were completed. His portrait hangs in the entrance foyer of the modern Number 10.[10]
Downing College, Cambridge was founded in 1800, under the terms of the will of Sir George Downing, 3rd Baronet (died 1749). A door from Number 10 is in use in the college.[11]
The houses between Number 10 and Whitehall were acquired by the government and demolished in 1824 to allow the construction of the
.Houses
- 1-8 Downing Street were the houses between Number 9 and Whitehall that 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.
- 9 Downing Street is the location of the Downing Street Press Briefing Room. It formerly held the offices for previous ministerial departments which have since been dissolved or moved. Since 2014 it has housed the offices of the Chief Whip, though their official address remained No. 12.[12]
- Spouse of the Prime Minister and family, Downing Street Director of Communications and Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office.
- Second Lord of the Treasury, the Chancellor of the Exchequer since 1828. The residence was built alongside the official residence of the Prime Minister at Number 10in 1682.
- Judge Advocate-General, although it remained in private ownership. It entered government hands when purchased by the East India Company in 1863, and was occupied by the marine and railway departments of the Board of Trade. It was badly damaged by fire in 1879, and underwent further changes.
- 13 Downing Street was originally part of 12 Downing Street before the housing area was partially re-built and re-numbered in 1876.
- 14 Downing Street formerly closed off the western end of the street. It was leased as a town house from 1723 to 1797. 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.
- 15–20 Downing Street, long since demolished, were at one time houses leading up to Foreign Office, which also occupied two houses on the south side of the street. 18 was occupied by the West India Department of the Colonial Office and 20 was occupied by the Tithe Commission.
The houses at the end of the street were arranged around Downing Square.
There used to be a public house, the Rose and Crown, in Downing Street. In 1830 the tenant was a Mr Dixon.[13]
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 only uses the Downing Street flat for formal occasions and lives elsewhere.
In 1881, William Ewart 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
Security gates
Barriers were erected at the St James's Park end of the street for the unveiling of the
When the movement for Irish independence became increasingly violent, it was decided to retain the barriers, which were raised and strengthened. On 26 November 1920 construction commenced on a wooden barricade, 8 feet (2.4 m) high at the end of the street. They were described as being of a "substantial character" mounted on proper foundations and incorporated vehicle gates.[16][17] The barriers were taken down in 1922 when the Irish Free State was created.
Vehicle access was curtailed in 1973 when metal barriers were placed across the entrance to the street.[18] In 1974, the Metropolitan Police proposed erecting a semi-permanent barrier between the pavement and carriageway on the Foreign Office side 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. The 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."[19]
In 1982 access was further restricted by railings and a demountable gate. They were replaced by black steel gates in 1989.
Access through these gates led to a political scandal known as
On the afternoon of 25 May 2023 the gates were damaged when a car crashed into them. The Prime Minister was inside at the time. A man was arrested by police and the incident was not terrorism related.[21][22]
Public right of way
Technically speaking, the public right of way along Downing Street has not been extinguished nor subject to a gating order and the road retains the status of a public highway maintained by Westminster City Council. Public access was curtailed by relying on common law powers to prevent breach of the peace[20][23][24] (although its legality has been questioned by a correspondent for New Statesman magazine).[25] In 2005, Westminster City Council used anti-terrorism powers contained in the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 to formalise the restrictions by means of a traffic management order.[25] This by implication results in Downing Street being inaccessible to the general public as admittance is only granted by the Police to scheduled visitors, Parliamentary pass holders and members of the accredited press.
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 street was not included in the boundaries of the designated area.[26]
Security
Since 1989, entering Downing Street has required passing through a
Notes
- ^ In practice, these office-holders may live in different flats in the complex, depending on their and their family's requirements.
See also
- Downing Street Christmas Tree
- List of eponymous roads in London
References
- ^ "Downing Street (Hampden House) - British History Online". www.british-history.ac.uk.
- ^ Bolitho, pp. 16–21.
- ^ Jones, pp. 24–32.
- ^ Feely, pp. 17–31.
- ^ a b Minney, p. 28.
- ^ Feely, pp. 28–31.
- ^ Jones, p. 41.
- ^ Bolitho, p. 20.
- ^ Minney, p. 34.
- ^ Jones, see back cover picture credited to Robert Hill @ BBC.
- ^ History of Downing College, Cambridge
- ^ "Matthew d'Ancona: Michael Gove is now Chief Whip to the nation". The Evening Standard. 16 July 2014. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
- ^ Morning Advertiser 07 August 1830
- ^ This is London — Downing St? We’d really rather not Archived 21 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Where does Boris Live?
- ^ a b New York Times, Build wall around Premier's house, 27 November 1920.
- ^ "Number 10 Transformed". UK Government.
- ^ Department of the Official Report (Hansard), House of Commons, Westminster. "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 25 Oct 1989". Publications.parliament.uk.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Wilson blocked plans for barriers outside No 10". Huddersfield Daily Examiner. 2007.
- ^ a b Department of the Official Report (Hansard), House of Commons, Westminster. "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 9 Jan 1990". Publications.parliament.uk.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Man arrested after crashing car into Downing Street gates in London". ABC News. 25 May 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
- ^ "Man arrested after car crashes into Downing Street gates". BBC News. 25 May 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
- ^ Department of the Official Report (Hansard), House of Commons, Westminster. "House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 19 Dec 2001 (pt 59)". Publications.parliament.uk.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Department of the Official Report (Hansard), House of Commons, Westminster. "House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 24 Jul 2002 (pt 41)". Parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk. Archived from the original on 13 October 2008.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b Green, David Allen. "What powers do the Downing Street police actually have?". New Statesman (blogs).
- ^ Text of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 (Designated Sites under Section 128) Order 2007 (No. 930) as originally enacted or made within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.
External links
- Number 10 official website
- Downing Street at the Survey of London online (see items 14–18 in the table of contents).