Originally, the door was made of Georgian black oak; it is today made of blast-proof steel and takes a reported eight men to lift it. List of current civil service and senior special adviser positions serving Prime Minister Rishi Sunak: The office was reorganised in 2001 into three directorates: Changes were intended to strengthen the PM's office. We covered all issues in some detail, including the most difficult ones. Fredrick Robinson, Lord Goderich took a special liking to the house in the late 1820s and spent state funds lavishly remodelling the interior. [117][118][119][120], Although Kent intended the First Lord to use this space as his study, it has rarely served that purpose; it has almost always been the Cabinet Room. Accessed through the first floor, its vaulted, arched ceiling rises up through the next so that it actually occupies two floors. So much has this extraordinary edifice cost the country For one moiety of the sum a much better dwelling might have been purchased! [87], Erith's concerns proved justified. [171], In her report about parties on Government premises during the COVID pandemic, Sue Gray concluded that the size of the Downing Street operation had increased without the structures to support them, and "too much responsibility and expectation is placed on the senior official whose principal function is support of the Prime Minister". In 1974, it was suggested that permanent barriers should be erected to prevent the public from walking along the street. Only a few are permanent features. Well send you a link to a feedback form. Downing Street itself was built in the 1680s by Sir George Downing who had purchased a large tract of land near Parliament, on the edge of St. Jamess Park. That has changed, and now security is very tight, as one would expect for the home of a country's head of government. Washington DC. [161] Also in attendance were Elizabeth II and representatives of the families of every 20th-century Prime Minister since H. H. Asquith, including Lady Olwen Carey Evans (daughter of David Lloyd George), Lady Leonora Howard (daughter of Stanley Baldwin), and Clarissa Avon (widow of Anthony Eden and niece of Winston Churchill). They are rearranged slightly to make room for a photograph of each new Prime Minister. If you are a journalist with a press enquiry or interview request, please email our press office. the locked door, symbolically and physically dividing No. John Major announced his 1997 resignation as leader of the Conservative Party in the garden. [15][16] In 1675 he retired to Cambridge, where he died in 1684, a few months after building was completed. When Margaret Thatcher arrived in 1979 she insisted that the artwork had to be British and that it celebrate "British achievers". Click to get Helen Cook's email: h****k@cantab.net Role: Head of Prime Minister's Points of Light UK @ 10 Downing Street, London, United Kingdom. To help us improve GOV.UK, wed like to know more about your visit today. To them, Number 10 was unimpressive. 10 Downing Street in London, also known colloquially in the United Kingdom as Number 10, is the official residence and executive office of the first lord of the treasury, usually, by convention, the prime minister of the United Kingdom. Wed like to set additional cookies to understand how you use GOV.UK, remember your settings and improve government services. You have rejected additional cookies. A note from Lord North to the Office of Works, dated September 1774, asks that the work on the front of the house, "which was begun by a Warrant from the Treasury dated 9 August 1766",[54] should be finished. By 1857 Downing Street's townhouses were all gone except for Number 10, Number 11 (customarily the Chancellor of the Exchequer's residence), and Number 12 (used as offices for Government Whips). The room links through to the Terracotta Room next door. [56] In 1783 the Duke of Portland moved out because it was once again in need of repair. 10 Downing Street in London, also known colloquially in the United Kingdom as Number 10, is the official residence and executive office of the first lord of the treasury, usually, by convention, the prime minister of the United Kingdom. [26], However, there have been numerous times when prime ministers have unofficially lived elsewhere out of necessity or preference. 10 from the Cabinet Office, was passed through with such frequency that its meaning was lost. [77][81] Macmillan lived in Admiralty House during the reconstruction. If you need help figuring out which tube to take, make sure to read our posts covering the London Underground and which tube pass you should buy. Extensive reconstruction again had to be undertaken in the late 1960s to resolve these problems. Jones, in letter from Margaret Thatcher used as a preface to the book. 10 is now on the hunt for an experienced broadcaster to host the daily press conference and be the government's voice . The headquarters of His Majesty's Government, it is situated on Downing Street in the City of Westminster in London, England. 10 Downing Street, known in the UK as "Number 10", is the headquarters of Her Majesty's Government and the official residence and office of the First Lord of the Treasury. Since 1990 when the Terry reconstruction was completed, repairing, redecorating, remodelling, and updating the house has been ongoing as needed. BOOK ONLINE Reserve a Spot on a Guided Walking Tour Now! Although Bothmer complained about "the ruinous Condition of the Premises",[32] he lived there until his death in 1732. The fence rises above the step into a double-swirled archway, supporting an iron gas lamp surmounted by a crown. Kent joined the larger houses by building a two-storey structure between them, consisting of one long room on the ground floor and several above. Also, take a look at the virtual tour of 10 Downing Street on the UK Government's website. MS. 38292, f. 11) from Lord Liverpool to Charles Ellis, dated 22 January 1823, is of interest. Public Enquiries: Online Contact Form. "Under (Prime Minister) Blair . (4) To see any comings and goings of the PM and other government members, Thursday morning is the best time, as this is when the PM and Cabinet meeting. [46], One reason many First Lords chose not to live in Number 10 was that most owned London town houses superior in size and quality. Berlin The garden is dominated by a half-acre (0.2 ha) open lawn which wraps around Numbers 10 and 11 in an L-shape. He has now seen two PMs come and go. This arrangement began to change in 1877 when Benjamin Disraeli took up residency. The double doors behind the table lead to the State Dining Room. 10, Downing Street, entrance hall and drawing room", "Apollo 11 mission 50 years on: The Cambridge scientist who helped put man on the moon", "Story behind the Terracotta Room at Downing Street", "YouTube Simon Schama's Tour of Downing Street. Since 2005, Number 10's Direct Communication Unit has not used its staff's real names on signed correspondence to MPs and members of the public; this is for security reasons. A new foundation with deep pilings would be laid and the original buildings reassembled on top of it, allowing for much needed expansion and modernisation. Claimed. The majority of the UK's Prime Ministers, dating back to the very first, (Robert Walpole in 1720) have called Number 10 home. Regularly removed for refurbishment and replaced with a replica, it is so heavy that it takes eight men to lift it. The State Dining Room contains a mahogany sideboard by Adam. Until the late 19th century, Prime Ministers were required to furnish Number 10 at their own expense with furniture, tableware, china, linens, curtains and decorations. Dry rot was widespread throughout. Rebuilt, expanded, and renovated many times since, it was originally one of several buildings that made up the "Cockpit Lodgings", so-called because they were attached to an octagonal structure used for cock-fighting. [9] Between 1682 and 1684, Downing built a cul-de-sac of two-storey town houses with coach-houses, stables and views of St James's Park. Number 10 Downing Street was originally three properties: a mansion overlooking St James's Park called "the House at the Back", a town house behind it and a cottage. It was used as the dining room when Robert Walpole was prime minister. From 1997 to 2019 and since 2020, the most senior special adviser post is the Downing Street chief of staff but this job title was out of use from July 2019 to November 2020 when the role was split into two positions with Dominic Cummings[165][166][167] who served as the chief adviser to the prime minister, and Edward Lister[168][169] who served as the chief strategic adviser to the prime minister. In 2010, the Camerons completely modernised the 50-year-old private kitchen in Number 11. The doorbell is inscribed with "PUSH" although is rarely used in practice. F: 011-61-293-552-2797. Although its hard to get a good look at the street due to security, Downing Street still remains as one of the most visited sites in our capital city. Begun in 1825 and completed in 1826 at a cost of 2,000, the result is a spacious room with oak panelling and reeded mouldings. Steel was hidden inside the columns in the Pillared Drawing Room to support the floor above. Larry the cat, whose officialtitle is Chief Mouser, has been living at 10 Downing Street since February 2011. Well send you a link to a feedback form. [80] In the end, the cost was close to 3,000,000 and took almost three years due in large part to 14 labour strikes. In a piece of "blatant political corruption", he allowed his son-in-law. 1 star. 137 reviews #20 of 454 Restaurants in Bhopal - Indian Bar International. The Treasury issued an order "for repairing and fitting it up in the best and most substantial manner" at a cost of 2,522. That if he declined it, it would go to the next in the Commission, or it might possibly be disposed of by the Board to any Member or Officer of the Treasury; but could not, & never has been detached from it. In addition to the large carpet previously described, the Pillared State Drawing Room also contains a marble-topped table by Kent. In the reconstruction during the late 1980s, Quinlan Terry used Corinthian columns and added ornate Baroque-style central ceiling mouldings and corner mouldings of the four national flowers of the United Kingdom: rose (England), thistle (Scotland), daffodil (Wales) and shamrock (Northern Ireland). Prague To find more go to "More details" about the price bundles. [131], The Terracotta Room is the middle of the three drawing rooms. Number Montreal -. However, the Prime Minister at the time, Harold Wilson, overturned the idea. Large, shiny, and black and bearing 10 in large brass numbers, the door is most likely one of the most photographed in the world! [27] Like Downing Street, it rested on a shallow foundation, a design error that caused problems until 1960 when the modern Number 10 was rebuilt on deep pilings. We include information such as how to get there, the best times to go, as well as some virtual tours of the famous residence. When Margaret Thatcher came to power it was the Blue Room; she had it re-decorated and renamed the Green Room. Tweets & replies. [28], The Lichfields followed James II into exile after the Glorious Revolution. [61][62] (See Numbers 10, 11, and 12 Downing Street First Floor Plan[63] and Ground Floor Plan. 294 Following. You can change your cookie settings at any time. Kent's staircase is the first architectural feature visitors see as they enter Number 10. For obvious safety reasons, the public is not allowed to walk on Downing Street, let alone go into the residence of the Prime Minister (PM). [122], Number 10 has three inter-linked state drawing rooms: the Pillared Drawing Room, the Terracotta Drawing Room and the White Drawing Room. [101] Number 10 Downing Street has a lift. "[57] (See Plan of the Design for Number 10 c1781. Probably not completed until 1796,[114] this alteration was achieved by removing the east wall and rebuilding it several feet inside the adjoining secretaries' room. You have accepted additional cookies. [46], Downing Street declined at the turn of the 19th century, becoming surrounded with run-down buildings, dark alleys, the scene of crime and prostitution. To celebrate, Thatcher hosted a grand dinner in the State Dining Room for her living predecessors: Harold Macmillan, Alec Douglas-Home, Harold Wilson, Edward Heath and James Callaghan. This system was used until November 1897 when the Treasury assumed responsibility for purchasing and maintaining almost all of the furnishings in both the public and private areas except decorating the walls with art work. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak makes a speech on the Windsor Framework. . There are plenty of other significant London sites within walking distance of Downing Street. In one from 28 April 2021, seven months before press reports about parties first appeared, an unnamed No 10 official noted that another official was "worried about leaks of PM having a piss up and . As part of the renovations begun in 1783, it was extended, giving the space its modern appearance. The houses deteriorated from neglect, became unsafe, and one by one were demolished. With a keen interest in History and a BA degree to match Margaret prides herself on her knowledge of the amazing city she calls home and she's been guiding here now for nearly a decade. . However, a number of challenging areas remain .