Downing Street

No 10 Downing Street

The hub of British govermance has gone through the ups and downs of life to become the synonym for the main seat of political power in Great Britain. Even before it was the official residence of the Prime Minister (PM) in the 1730s, it was a playground of politics. No 10 is the official home of the PM and his family and is located in Westminster, London. Next door neighbour (No 11) is the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Since two of the most important people of Great Britain live in Downing Street, it is maybe the most secure street in England today. King George II intended to give it to Sir Robert Walpole (1717–97), since Walpole's office and parliament had taken over legislative and executive power from the monarch. The state affairs needed suitable representation. However Walpole reused the gift. Instead he asked the king make it available for the succeeding Lords of The Treasury as residence and office [2]. Walpole was a Whig and Britain’s first prime minister, although his actual title still was First Lord of the Treasure (1715–17 and 1721–42). Walpole's dominance and his reforms ensured a certain political stability and economic success. Although he himself was accused of dishonest behaviour in government since he favoured followers with estates and high positions [5]. Walpole employed the famous architect William Kent to reconstruct the building. Kent's style was according to the age grand, classical design inspired by Roman buildings to make it representative. The House on Downing Street and the Horse Guard House were joined together and the interior of the new building rearranged and refurbished. The largest, Walpole's study, is now the Cabinet Room. The Terracotta Room was once Walpole's dining room and the White Drawing Room Lady Walpole's sitting room. Later on several alterations were made according to trends and living standards. Although the location of the office of the PM has a long history the present building is a quite different one [2, 3].--Karsten 16:15, 25 May 2010 (UTC)

Downing's Street

Downing Street was named after the original developer of the site, Sir George Downing (c.1624–84), a diplomat under both Oliver Cromwell and Charles II. The "perfidious rogue" was brought up in New England and was one of the first graduates of Harvard University. When he came to England his dubious qualities were needed in the English Civil War. Thus he rose to Cromwell's Scoutsmaster General (chief of intelligence) in 1650 and 1657 British Ambassador to The Hague, where he worked against the exiled royal family. But with the death of Cromwell in 1658 he betrayed his former allies and turned toward the crown and Charles II. Downing tried to get rich via property speculation and tried to get hold of land around Hampden House, near to Westminster. In 1654 he acquired the Crown interest in the land, but it was still in the possession of the descendants of Knyvet [please explain?!]. In 1682 he finally got hold of the land pulled down the existing buildings and built 15 or 20 terraced houses. Since he aimed for profit these houses were cheaply constructed. They had only a fake brick facades made of mortar and were completely different from today's. Even the numbers were different. Today's No 10 was originally No 5 [2]. No 10, Downing Street stands next to the garden of Hampden House [3]. --Karsten 16:15, 25 May 2010 (UTC)

A History with House

Downing Street is situated upon Thorney Island ("the Island of thorns"). The first settlers an this boggy piece of land were Romans. Although an ideal position for a ford (lying in between the branches of two rivers) the marshy underground should cause problems for buildings later on. Traces of these early Roman and Saxon settlements have been found within the grounds of No 10. King Canute (1017-35), Edward the Confessor (1042-66) and William I (1066-87) used the area for their palaces. Thus Westminster was early known as the centre of government. The earliest, documented building on the spot of No 10 was The Axe brewery owned by the Abbey of Abingdon in the Middle Ages. Today's No 10 would stand upon the edge of Whitehall Palace of Henry VIII, built upon ground confiscated from Cardinal Wolsey in 1530 [2]. The first house for domestic usage was built by Sir Thomas Knyvet (known for arresting Guy Fawkes in context of the Gunpowder Plot). The ground was lent to him by Elizabeth I in 1581 since he was one of her favourites. After his death Knyvet House passed to Knyvet's wife, a niece of Elizabeth I. In the middle of the 17th century, a time of political upheavel, the house was owned by Mrs Hampden's family. Her son, John Hampden was a Member of Parliament (MP) and leader of the Parliamentary opposition to King Charles I; Oliver Cromwell the Lord Protector was her nephew. Hampden's House was torn down by Sir Downing.

Already residence of the Prime Minister the house was in danger when a mob of protesters sieged it when PM Lord North hold his famous dinner party on the 7 June 1780 [please explain?!]. Lord North himself prevented a bloody outcome by warning the protesters about the advancing armoured guards. Lord North was the person who added some of the present distinctive feature to the house as the black and white chequerboard floor in the entrance hall, the lamp above the door and the lion's head. His architect was Sir Robert Taylor. The following PMs went on with rearranging the house to make it more homely and fitting for new activities and additional functions. By and by it became a not only a political but also social hub. In the 19th century the prestige of No 10 suffered under some tragic event when PM Spencer Perceval was shot in the lobby of the house of commons on 11 May 1812. The coffin lay for five days in No 10 before the funeral took place. Perceval's successor Viscount Goderich added the wood-panelled State Dining Room and the Small Dining Room and No 11 became residence of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. But the substance of the house created security problems. For around 50 years the PMs mostly refused to live in No 10 and the Duke of Wellington moved in for some time (1829-30). It was only used for cabinet meetings. Moreover the prestige was reduced by the new Foreign Office building in the 1860s. PM Benjamin Disraeli had to modernize it entirely [2,3].--Karsten 18:28, 25 May 2010 (UTC)

The Myth of Downing Street and Churchill

The front door became famous through PM Arthur Balfour (1902-05) who was the first to drive up in a motor car. He made No 10 place of office and residence again. Due to this and the fact that in times of national crises people used to protest in front of it the front door made its way upon the front pages of newspapers all over the world. Today's legendary fame is caused by its central role in the First and Second World War when it became the centre of military decisions and since Great Britain won both, it became symbol for British success and power. During WWII the cabinet had to leave the house and went into a bunker. But anecdotes tell that Winston Churchill preferred to work in there, in spite of the bomb peril. He fancied the building for its plain style and common sense (thanks to the classicism of Kent and the good taste of all the other architects). Bombs damaged it severely. But Winston Churchill insisted on rebuilding it at close as possible to the original and allowed only necessary modernization. What is more, during the time of the British Empire it was the hub of ruling the colonies[2,3,5]. The house was stuffed with secretaries for each region in the world [6].--Karsten 18:29, 25 May 2010 (UTC)

The Occupants

Since 25 May 2010 conservative leader and current PM David Cameron lives in Downing Street No 10 [4]. A list of all former occupants since 1721 can be found under: [<<http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2010/may/12/british-prime-ministers-listedspreadsheet# data>>] [1]. And for all who are interested, a list of the former owner in the follwing publication: [<<http://www.british-history.ac.uk/source.aspx?pubid=748>>] [3].--Karsten 18:36, 25 May 2010 (UTC)

References and Further Reading

References

[1] “List of all British Prime Ministers since 1721”. Guardian. 24 May 2010 [<<http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2010/may/12/british-prime-ministers-listedspreadsheet# data>>]

[2] “History of the Building”. Number10. 24.04.2010. [<<http://www.number10.gov.uk/history-and-tour/history-of-the-building>>]

[3] "No. 10 Downing Street." Ed. Cox, Montague H. and G. Topham Forrest. Survey of London: volume 14 - St Margaret, Westminster, part III: Whitehall II. 1931: 113-141. 24 May 2010. [<<http://www.british-history.ac.uk/source.aspx?pubid=748>>]

[4] “David Cameron”. Conservatives. 24.05.2010 [<<http://www.conservatives.com/people/david_cameron.aspx>>]

[5] Maurer, Michael. Kleine Geschichte Englands. Stutgart: Reclam, 2007: 259-265, 270f, 277, 281f, 287-289, 446-459.

[6] "No 10 Downing Street, London". The Rotarion. 5 (1936): 30-35. 24 May 2010. [<<http://books.google.de/books?id=ukAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA30&dq=downing+street+10&cd=4#v=onepage&q=downing%20street%2010&f=false>>]--Karsten 18:29, 25 May 2010 (UTC)