Downing Street
Encyclopedia
Downing Street in London
, England has for over two hundred years housed the official residences of two of the most senior British cabinet ministers: the First Lord of the Treasury
, an office now synonymous with that of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
, and the Second Lord of the Treasury
, an office held by the Chancellor of the Exchequer
. The Prime Minister's official residence is 10 Downing Street
; the Chancellor's official residence is next door at Number 11. The Government's Chief Whip
has an official residence at Number 9.
Downing Street is located in Whitehall
in central London
, a few minutes' walk from the Houses of Parliament and a little farther from Buckingham Palace
. The street was built in the 1680s by Sir George Downing
(1632–1689) on the site of a mansion called Hampden House. The houses on the west side of the street were demolished in the nineteenth century to make way for government offices, now occupied by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
.
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
, and who invested in properties and acquired considerable wealth. In 1654, he purchased the lease on land south of Saint James's Park, adjacent to the House at the Back, and within walking distance of Parliament. Downing planned to build a row of townhouses designed "for persons of good quality to inhabit in..." However, the Hampden family had a lease which prevented construction of the houses for thirty years. When the Hampden lease expired, Downing received permission to build further west to take advantage of recent real estate 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."
Between 1682 and 1684, Downing built a cul-de-sac of two-storey townhomes complete with coach-houses, stables and views of St. James's Park. How many he built is not clear, most historians say fifteen, others say twenty. The addresses changed several times; Number 10 was "Number 5" for a while; it did not become "10" until 1787. Downing employed Sir Christopher Wren
to design his houses. Although large, they were put up quickly and cheaply on soft soil with shallow foundations. The fronts, for example, were facades with lines painted on the surface imitating brick mortar. Prime Minister Winston Churchill
wrote that Number 10 was "shaky and lightly built by the profiteering contractor whose name they bear."
The upper end of the Downing Street cul de sac closed off 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." They 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 of 1762-3 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 they were completed. His portrait hangs in the entrance foyer of the modern Number 10 Downing Street.
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.
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
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 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 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. Blair and Brown's arrangement continued between Brown (at 11) and Alistair Darling
(at 10), and is said to be likely to continue in the Cameron ministry
(David Cameron
at 11 and George Osborne
at 10).
end of the street for the unveiling of the Cenotaph
on 11 November 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 26 November 1920 construction commenced on a substantial wooden barricade, 8 feet (2.4 m) 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 IRA
.
. 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.
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England has for over two hundred years housed the official residences of two of the most senior British cabinet ministers: the First Lord of the Treasury
First Lord of the Treasury
The First Lord of the Treasury is the head of the commission exercising the ancient office of Lord High Treasurer in the United Kingdom, and is now always also the Prime Minister...
, an office now synonymous with that of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
, and the Second Lord of the Treasury
Second Lord of the Treasury
The Second Lord of the Treasury is a member of the commission exercising the ancient office of Lord High Treasurer in the United Kingdom. Since 1827, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has always simultaneously held the office of Second Lord of the Treasury when he has not also been the Prime Minister...
, an office held by the Chancellor of the Exchequer
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
. The Prime Minister's official residence is 10 Downing Street
10 Downing Street
10 Downing Street, colloquially known in the United Kingdom as "Number 10", is the headquarters of Her Majesty's Government and the official residence and office of the First Lord of the Treasury, who is now always the Prime Minister....
; the Chancellor's official residence is next door at Number 11. The Government's Chief Whip
Chief Whip
The Chief Whip is a political office in some legislatures assigned to an elected member whose task is to administer the whipping system that ensures that members of the party attend and vote as the party leadership desires.-The Whips Office:...
has an official residence at Number 9.
Downing Street is located in Whitehall
Whitehall
Whitehall is a road in Westminster, in London, England. It is the main artery running north from Parliament Square, towards Charing Cross at the southern end of Trafalgar Square...
in central London
Central London
Central London is the innermost part of London, England. There is no official or commonly accepted definition of its area, but its characteristics are understood to include a high density built environment, high land values, an elevated daytime population and a concentration of regionally,...
, a few minutes' walk from the Houses of Parliament and a little farther from Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace, in London, is the principal residence and office of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality...
. The street was built in the 1680s by Sir George Downing
Sir George Downing, 1st Baronet
Sir George Downing, 1st Baronet was an Anglo-Irish soldier, statesman, and diplomat. Downing Street in London is named after him. As Treasury Secretary he is credited with instituting major reforms in public finance. His influence was substantial on the passage and substance of the mercantilist...
(1632–1689) on the site of a mansion called Hampden House. The houses on the west side of the street were demolished in the nineteenth century to make way for government offices, now occupied by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, commonly called the Foreign Office or the FCO is a British government department responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom overseas, created in 1968 by merging the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office.The head of the FCO is the...
.
History
Sir George Downing, 1st Baronet
Sir George Downing, 1st Baronet was an Anglo-Irish soldier, statesman, and diplomat. Downing Street in London is named after him. As Treasury Secretary he is credited with instituting major reforms in public finance. His influence was substantial on the passage and substance of the mercantilist...
(1632–1689) on the site of a mansion called Hampden House. Downing was a soldier and diplomat who served under Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
and King Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
, and who invested in properties and acquired considerable wealth. In 1654, he purchased the lease on land south of Saint James's Park, adjacent to the House at the Back, and within walking distance of Parliament. Downing planned to build a row of townhouses designed "for persons of good quality to inhabit in..." However, the Hampden family had a lease which prevented construction of the houses for thirty years. When the Hampden lease expired, Downing received permission to build further west to take advantage of recent real estate 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."
Between 1682 and 1684, Downing built a cul-de-sac of two-storey townhomes complete with coach-houses, stables and views of St. James's Park. How many he built is not clear, most historians say fifteen, others say twenty. The addresses changed several times; Number 10 was "Number 5" for a while; it did not become "10" until 1787. Downing employed Sir Christopher Wren
Christopher Wren
Sir Christopher Wren FRS is one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history.He used to be accorded responsibility for rebuilding 51 churches in the City of London after the Great Fire in 1666, including his masterpiece, St. Paul's Cathedral, on Ludgate Hill, completed in 1710...
to design his houses. Although large, they were put up quickly and cheaply on soft soil with shallow foundations. The fronts, for example, were facades with lines painted on the surface imitating brick mortar. Prime Minister Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
wrote that Number 10 was "shaky and lightly built by the profiteering contractor whose name they bear."
The upper end of the Downing Street cul de sac closed off access to St. James's Park
St. James's Park
St. James's Park is a 23 hectare park in the City of Westminster, central London - the oldest of the Royal Parks of London. The park lies at the southernmost tip of the St. James's area, which was named after a leper hospital dedicated to St. James the Less.- Geographical location :St. James's...
, 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." They had several distinguished residents. The Countess of Yarmouth lived at Number 10 between 1688 and 1689, Lord Lansdowne
George Granville, 1st Baron Lansdowne
George Granville, 1st Baron Lansdowne PC was an English poet, playwright, and politician who served as a Privy Counsellor from 1712.-Early life:...
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 of 1762-3 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 they were completed. His portrait hangs in the entrance foyer of the modern Number 10 Downing Street.
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.
Houses in Downing Street
9 Downing Street
9 Downing Street is one of the buildings situated on Downing Street in the City of Westminster in London, England.Under the current government, the building is being used to house the office of the Chief Whip and is also the Downing Street entrance to the Privy Council Office.Formerly the building...
was named in 2001 and is the Downing Street entrance to the Privy Council Office
Privy Council Office (United Kingdom)
The Privy Council Office provides secretarial and administrative support to the Lord President of the Council in his or her capacity of president of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council. The head of the Office is the Clerk of the Privy Council...
and currently houses the Chief Whip
Chief Whip
The Chief Whip is a political office in some legislatures assigned to an elected member whose task is to administer the whipping system that ensures that members of the party attend and vote as the party leadership desires.-The Whips Office:...
's office. It was formerly part of Number 10.
10 Downing Street
10 Downing Street
10 Downing Street, colloquially known in the United Kingdom as "Number 10", is the headquarters of Her Majesty's Government and the official residence and office of the First Lord of the Treasury, who is now always the Prime Minister....
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
11 Downing Street
11 Downing Street , is the official residence of the Second Lord of the Treasury in Britain, who in modern times has always been the Chancellor of the Exchequer...
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
12 Downing Street
12 Downing Street is the official residence of the Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury. This is the post held by the Chief Whip of the governing party of the UK Parliament....
, 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
East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
in 1863, and became occupied by the marine and railway departments of the Board of Trade
Board of Trade
The Board of Trade is a committee of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, originating as a committee of inquiry in the 17th century and evolving gradually into a government department with a diverse range of functions...
. 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
The Crown
The Crown is a corporation sole that in the Commonwealth realms and any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof represents the legal embodiment of governance, whether executive, legislative, or judicial...
in 1798, and was used by the War Office
War Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...
and Colonial Office
Colonial Office
Colonial Office is the government agency which serves to oversee and supervise their colony* Colonial Office - The British Government department* Office of Insular Affairs - the American government agency* Reichskolonialamt - the German 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 Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
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
United Kingdom general election, 1997
The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...
, in which Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
took power, a swap was carried out by the then-incumbents of the two titles, Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
being a married man with three children still living at home, while his counterpart, Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
, 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. Blair and Brown's arrangement continued between Brown (at 11) and Alistair Darling
Alistair Darling
Alistair Maclean Darling is a Scottish Labour Party politician who has been a Member of Parliament since 1987, currently for Edinburgh South West. He served as the Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2007 to 2010...
(at 10), and is said to be likely to continue in the Cameron ministry
Cameron Ministry
David Cameron is Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, after being invited by Queen Elizabeth II to form a new government after the resignation as Prime Minister of Gordon Brown on 11 May 2010. Leading a coalition government formed by the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats, the coalition...
(David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
at 11 and George Osborne
George Osborne
George Gideon Oliver Osborne, MP is a British Conservative politician. He is the Chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom, a role to which he was appointed in May 2010, and has been the Member of Parliament for Tatton since 2001.Osborne is part of the old Anglo-Irish aristocracy, known in...
at 10).
Downing Street gates
The first barriers in Downing Street were erected at the St. James's ParkSt. James's Park
St. James's Park is a 23 hectare park in the City of Westminster, central London - the oldest of the Royal Parks of London. The park lies at the southernmost tip of the St. James's area, which was named after a leper hospital dedicated to St. James the Less.- Geographical location :St. James's...
end of the street for the unveiling of the Cenotaph
The Cenotaph, Whitehall
The Cenotaph is a war memorial located in Whitehall, London. It began as a temporary structure erected for a peace parade following the end of World War I, but following an outpouring of national sentiment it was replaced by a permanent structure and designated the United Kingdom's official war...
on 11 November 1920. They were a public safety measure intended to prevent the crowds in Whitehall becoming too dense.
With the movement for Irish independence
Irish War of Independence
The Irish War of Independence , Anglo-Irish War, Black and Tan War, or Tan War was a guerrilla war mounted by the Irish Republican Army against the British government and its forces in Ireland. It began in January 1919, following the Irish Republic's declaration of independence. Both sides agreed...
increasing in violence, it was decided that these barriers would be retained, and raised and strengthened. In addition, on 26 November 1920 construction commenced on a substantial wooden barricade, 8 feet (2.4 m) 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
Irish Free State
The Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand...
, but vehicle access has been curtailed since 1973 when metal barriers were placed across the entrance to the street.
In 1974, the Metropolitan Police
Metropolitan police
Metropolitan Police is a generic title for the municipal police force for a major metropolitan area, and it may be part of the official title of the force...
proposed erecting a semi-permanent barrier between the pavement
Sidewalk
A sidewalk, or pavement, footpath, footway, and sometimes platform, is a path along the side of a road. A sidewalk may accommodate moderate changes in grade and is normally separated from the vehicular section by a curb...
and carriageway
Carriageway
A carriageway consists of a width of road on which a vehicle is not restricted by any physical barriers or separation to move laterally...
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
Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...
rejected the proposal, feeling that it would appear to be an unacceptable restriction of the freedom of the public. Wilson's private secretary
Private Secretary
In the United Kingdom government, a Private Secretary is a civil servant in a Department or Ministry, responsible to the Secretary of State or Minister...
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 IRA
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...
.
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 1980Highways Act 1980
The Highways Act 1980 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom dealing with the management and operation of the road network in England and Wales. It consolidated with amendments several earlier pieces of legislation. Many amendments relate only to changes of highway authority, to include...
. The road retains the status of a public highway maintained by Westminster City Council
Westminster City Council
Westminster City Council is the local authority for the City of Westminster in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council and is entitled to be known as a city council, which is a rare distinction in the United Kingdom. The city is divided into 20 wards, each electing three councillors...
. Public access is instead curtailed by the use of common law
Common law
Common law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive branch action...
powers to prevent breach of the peace
Breach of the peace
Breach of the peace is a legal term used in constitutional law in English-speaking countries, and in a wider public order sense in Britain.-Constitutional law:...
.
Although the Downing Street government buildings and grounds are a designated site under the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005
Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005
The Serious Organized Crime and Police Act 2005 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom aimed primarily at creating the Serious Organised Crime Agency, it also significantly extended and simplified the powers of arrest of a constable and introduced restrictions on protests in the...
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 usually at least one police officer outside the front door of Number 10.External links
- Number 10 official website
- Downing Street at the Survey of LondonSurvey of LondonThe Survey of London is a research project to produce a comprehensive architectural survey of the former County of London. It was founded in 1894 by Charles Robert Ashbee, an Arts-and-Crafts architect and social thinker, and was motivated by a desire to record and preserve London's ancient monuments...
online (see items 14-18 in the table of contents).