10 Downing Street

From Medieval Brewery to Prime Minister's Palace

The site of 10 Downing Street has witnessed remarkable transformations across nearly a millennium. In the Middle Ages, a brewery owned by the Abbey of Abingdon occupied the location. By the early 16th century, Queen Elizabeth I leased the first recorded house on the site to Sir Thomas Knyvet, one of her favoured courtiers and the man instrumental in uncovering the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. The property remained in private hands through the 17th century, serving various distinguished residents as Westminster established itself as the undisputed centre of British governance. The street itself emerged from the ambitions of Sir George Downing, a fascinating figure of the Restoration era. A former spy for Oliver Cromwell who later switched allegiance to King Charles II, Downing was a speculator with an eye for profitable development. In 1654, he acquired a lease on land south of St James's Park and began constructing a row of terraced townhouses intended for the political and social elite. When the lease on the adjacent Hampton House expired in 1682, Downing demolished it and parcelled the land into building plots, laying out the street that now bears his name. Though built on boggy ground with poor foundations—a decision that would require remedial work for centuries—the houses quickly attracted prominent residents.

Walpole's Acceptance and William Kent's Transformation

In 1732, King George II offered one of these houses to Sir Robert Walpole, the First Lord of the Treasury and widely regarded as Britain's first Prime Minister. Rather than accept it as a personal gift, Walpole shrewdly negotiated that the property be made available to future First Lords of the Treasury in their official capacity—a condition that established the precedent continuing to this day. Before taking up residence, Walpole commissioned the celebrated Palladian architect William Kent to unite the original house with the larger Bothmer House behind it, creating a more substantial and elegant residence. The three-year renovation, completed in 1735, transformed the ramshackle properties into a grand townhouse suitable for entertaining royalty, politicians, and dignitaries. The cost, originally estimated at £8,000, likely exceeded £20,000—a substantial sum for the era. On 22 September 1735, Walpole formally moved in with his family. The following day, the London Daily Post announced the momentous occasion, and within days the Queen herself visited to take breakfast with Lady Walpole. The house was designed with entertaining in mind: handsome reception rooms occupied the first and second floors, while Walpole conducted government business on the ground floor. This arrangement of combined residence and office would define the building's character for generations.

Centuries of Political Drama and Architectural Evolution

Despite Walpole's efforts to establish Number 10 as the Prime Minister's home, many of his successors preferred their own townhouses and rarely occupied the property. By the 19th century, most Prime Ministers used it primarily as an office and venue for cabinet meetings rather than as a residence. Nevertheless, the building accumulated the imprints of successive leaders. Lord North, the Prime Minister blamed for losing the American colonies, added the iconic lion's head doorknocker and the black-and-white chequerboard floor in the entrance hall. William Gladstone oversaw the installation of electric lighting in 1884 and the first telephones. Benjamin Disraeli and Gladstone both commissioned major renovations to restore the deteriorating structure to liveable condition. The 20th century brought both modernisation and preservation challenges. Central heating was finally installed in 1937, and the attic rooms were converted into a flat for the Prime Minister. In 1957, Prime Minister Harold Macmillan appointed the Crawford Committee to investigate the building's structural problems. The committee's report recommended substantial rebuilding while preserving the historic first-floor State Rooms and Cabinet suite—a decision that reflected the building's profound significance to British heritage. The reconstruction, completed in 1963, strengthened foundations that had been inadequate for over two centuries, eliminated the need for a full-time fireman to watch for fires, and modernised services throughout. Yet despite these interventions, the building remains characteristically complicated and meandering, a physical manifestation of its layered history.

The Black Door and Global Recognition

The most famous feature of 10 Downing Street is undoubtedly its black front door, painted in the distinctive colour that has become synonymous with British political power. The door is flanked by a classical portico and bears the number 10 in gleaming brass—an image recognised across the world. This modest entrance has been the backdrop for countless historic moments captured by photographers and broadcasters. In 1938, Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain waved the Anglo-German Agreement from the front step, proclaiming "Peace with honour" after his meeting with Adolf Hitler in Munich. A year later, he broadcast from the Cabinet Room the sombre announcement that Britain was at war. Winston Churchill made the building his own during World War II, often dictating speeches and letters from bed while smoking cigars, seemingly indifferent to the unconventional setting. On 8 May 1945, he chose the formal Cabinet Room to broadcast the VE Day message announcing Victory in Europe. The building itself did not escape the London Blitz unscathed; in February 1944, a bomb fell on nearby Horse Guards Parade, destroying some of the drawing-room windows. Churchill was frequently photographed emerging from Number 10 holding up two fingers in the victory sign, an image that became iconic.

A Gathering Place for Change and Protest

Beyond its role as the seat of executive power, 10 Downing Street has served as a focal point for those seeking to challenge that power. In January 1908, suffragette leaders including Emmeline Pankhurst chained themselves to the railings outside Number 10, generating enormous publicity for the campaign for women's votes. During the 1960s, anti-Vietnam War protestors marched on Downing Street, and in 2005, anti-Iraq War demonstrators gathered there. The building's symbolic weight as the embodiment of British government has made it a natural gathering place for those demanding change. Only one Prime Minister has died at Number 10: Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, who served from 1905 until his resignation on 3 April 1908. Too ill to be moved, he remained in the building and died there 19 days later. Margaret Thatcher, the longest-serving Prime Minister of the 20th century, developed a profound sense of the building's historical resonance. In 1985, she described Number 10 as "one of the most precious jewels in the national heritage"—a sentiment that captures how successive leaders have come to regard this unassuming terraced house that has witnessed and shaped the course of modern British history.