TEN DOWNING STREET

ADDRESS:
10 Downing Street
Whitehall
London
SW1A 2AA

nearest train station:
Westminister 0.2 miles (0.4 km)
Waterloo East 0.8 miles (1.2 km)

10 Downing Street is the official residence of the serving British prime minister, and had been used in that capacity since 1732. The first resident t was Sir Robert Walpole, the first ever British prime minister. It’s actually a small road located off of Whitehall between Trafalgar Square and Parliament Square. Due to security concerns you can no longer actually walk on down street itself. There’s a pair of black iron gates at the entrance on Whitehall that were installed in the 1980’s and the building can be seen from the gates. On November 7th 1991 the IRA launched mortars at the building from a van parked on Whitehall.

Downing Street (it’s actually a row of terrace houses within a cul-de-sac) takes its name from the man who constructed it, Sir George Downing. The building is not only used as a residence but also as government offices and the prime ministers main office. Visiting dignitaries from all over the world can be seen greeting the prime minister outside the black door of number 10 downing street. Inside are conference rooms and dining rooms for meetings and entertaining.

Actually what we know as number 10 today was two separate houses. There was a large mansion to the rear of number 10 dating back to around 1530. After taking residence Walpole had number ten and the mansion knocked into a single building.

A curious piece of trivia is that the front door has no keyhole and can only be opened from the inside.

FREE TO VIEW FROM OUTSIDE

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