Downing Street - Who lives where, Downing Street gates

A street off Whitehall in C London, UK. Of the original terraced houses only numbers 10 (since 1735 the prime minister's official residence), 11 (used by the Chancellor of the Exchequer), and 12 (used by the party whip) remain. One side of the street has been replaced by the Foreign Office building.

Downing Street is the street in Westminster, London, which has been the official residence for 200 years of two of the most senior British Cabinet Ministers, the First Lord of the Treasury, an office held by the Prime Minister, and the Second Lord of the Treasury, an office held by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The most famous address in Downing Street is 10 Downing Street, the official residence of the First Lord of the Treasury — and thus, in modern times, the residence of the Prime Minister, since the two roles have been filled by the same person. As a result of this, "Downing Street" or "Number 10" is often used as a metonym for the Prime Ministers or their office, whilst "Number 11" is likewise a term for the Chancellors of the Exchequer or their office.

Downing Street is located in Whitehall in central London, a few minutes' walk from the Houses of Parliament and on the edge of Horse Guards Parade and St. James's Park. According to the Downing Street official website, the last private resident in the street was a Mr Chicken, about whom very little is known except that he left Downing Street some time in the 1730s. In the 1950s and 1960s, plans were considered to demolish both the Foreign Office and the rest of Downing Street and build "something more modern".

Who lives where

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. 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. 11 Downing Street is the official residence of the Second Lord of the Treasury, and thus is the home 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. Sometimes a minister will only use their Downing Street flat for formal occasions and otherwise live elsewhere. Although Number 10 continued to be the prime minister's official residence and contain the prime ministerial offices, Blair and his family moved into the more spacious apartment above Numbers 11 and 12, while Brown was handed control of the Number 10 apartment.

Downing Street gates

In 1986, large black steel gates were erected at the entrance of Downing Street to protect the Prime Minister (then Margaret Thatcher) from terrorist attack, particularly from the Provisional IRA. Before then it was possible for members of the public to walk through Downing Street and past Number 10, as a shortcut to St. James's Park.