11 minute read
CORRIDORS OF POWER
Number 10 Downing Street has the most famous front door in the world: the entrance to the Prime Minister’s official London residence. But what lies behind it?
WORDS NEIL JONES
Just a short walk from the Houses of Parliament, 10 Downing Street presents a surprisingly modest facade to outside eyes. But appearances are deceptive. Behind the famous black door, the Prime Minister runs a busy office, holds Cabinet meetings and hosts state and charity receptions.
Fifty-three men and two women have stepped across the threshold as British Prime Minister. “There is no traditional key for the front door,” a Downing Street spokesperson reveals. “A custodian keeps watch 24 hours a day and can see people arriving on a CCTV screen.” Which explains how the door magically opens as soon as the PM arrives.
Another ‘secret’ is that Number 10 is not one but two houses that have been joined together: the unpretentious Downing Street entrance, where the world’s press gathers to capture ministers coming and going, is a 17th-century town house (with later refurbishment). Inside, a broad corridor connects it to a mansion and walled garden behind, looking onto Horse Guards Parade.
Sir George Downing built the terraced houses in the cul-de-sac that is Downing Street in the late 17th century. A speculator, spy, traitor and general rogue, he aimed to make a quick buck by developing property close to parliament and court. He certainly upset the neighbours – King Charles II’s daughter, Countess Lichfield, lived in the mansion behind and bitterly complained about the intrusion on her privacy. Not only that, Downing built cheaply, putting down poor foundations in boggy ground that in later years would need to be remedied.
The association of Number 10 with Britain’s premiers began in the 1730s. King George II presented it, along with the mansion, to Sir Robert Walpole, to provide him with a fine dwelling to match his status – he was First Lord of the Treasury and is regarded as the country’s first, as well as longest-serving, Prime Minister (1721-42). Walpole accepted the king’s offer, on condition that future First Lords of the Treasury could also live here – and that is the official role in which all later Prime Ministers have occupied Number 10.
Right: Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak on the Number 10 staircase Below: The walled garden at Number 10
ANDREW PARSONS/NO10 DOWNING STREET/FLICKR/WWW.CREATIVECOMMONS.ORG/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 © PHOTOS:
Before he took up residence in 1735, Walpole had the two houses joined together and refurbished in grand style by the Palladian architect William Kent. Now important guests could be entertained in handsome rooms on the first and second floors, while Walpole used the ground floor to conduct business. Over the decades since, there have been many further alterations, notably the building of the State Dining Room and Small Dining Room in the 19th century by the architect Sir John Soane.
In the 20th century, with photography and radio on hand to capture the moments for posterity, Downing Street became the focus for significant events in Britain’s history. In January 1908, long before gates were erected at the end of the street to control entry, suffragettes chained themselves to the railings outside Number 10, gaining huge publicity for their campaign for women’s votes.
In 1938, Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain returned from Germany to flourish the infamous ‘peace for our time’ document in front of jubilant gathered crowds. A year later, he broadcast a sombre radio message from Number 10’s Cabinet Room, telling the nation that it was at war.
Winston Churchill moved in and brought his own characteristic style of leadership: often sitting in bed smoking cigars while dictating speeches and letters to an unfazed secretary in the morning or late evening. On 8 May 1945 he chose the more formal setting of the Cabinet Room to make his VE Day broadcast announcing Victory in Europe. A notable post-war change was the 1940s conversion of the attic – formerly servants’ quarters – into a modest flat for the Prime Minister and his family. It is nowhere near as grand as the floors below, but it did relieve Prime Ministers of having to bring their own furniture for the State Rooms. Nowadays, our Downing Street spokesperson explains, “The State Rooms are inspected every four years – we work with English Heritage to ensure that the rooms are kept to the right standards. Prime Ministers are able to influence the decoration, but English Heritage would be involved in any refurbishment.”
Indeed, the imprint and fancies of different Prime Ministers can be found throughout Number 10. When Lord North – known as the man who lost Britain’s American colonies – was Prime Minister (1770-82), the iconic lion’s head doorknocker and black-and-white chequer board floor in the entrance hall were added.
Those who step inside are aware of a hubbub of activity spread through the building – civil servants, clerks and others of the 200 staff who work in the PM’s office. The Cabinet Room, however, lies behind soundproof doors. The Cabinet – the supreme decisionmaking committee in government – meets here once a week during parliament to discuss big issues of the moment (though throughout the pandemic they have
Clockwise from left: Larry, Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office of the United Kingdom, in the Cabinet Room; portrait of Robert Walpole, former Prime Minister, by the studio of Jean Baptiste van Loo, c.1740; Prime Minister Boris Johnson welcomes French President Emmanuel Macron; a portrait of Lady Thatcher by Richard Stone now hangs in the study, where she often worked
For more historic London buildings, see www.britainmagazine.com
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had to meet remotely). Prime Minister Harold Macmillan (1957-63) introduced the curved, boat-shaped table to enable the PM to see everyone.
Carry on, up William Kent’s bold three-sided Grand Staircase, and you certainly feel eyes upon you as portraits of every Prime Minister gaze down from the walls.
Margaret, later Baroness Thatcher famously declared, “One of my few hobbies is interior decorating”. And when she came to power (1979-90) she embarked on major refurbishment of the State Rooms, including the White Drawing Room and the Terracotta Room. The Iron Lady’s legacy includes a flash of humour: look amid the ornate plasterwork of the new ceiling in the Terracotta Room for a straw-carrying thatcher.
These rooms are resplendent with antiques and crystal chandeliers. Paintings include loans from the Government Art Collection; the Prime Minister selects pieces for his own residence and office. The Downing Street cleaners are specially trained in heritage cleaning techniques and there is a heritage restorer if anything needs repairing.
Television interviews often take place in the White Drawing Room, while the (allegedly haunted) Pillared Room provides a grand stage for state, celebrity and charity receptions. When guests sit down in the State Dining Room, they tuck into dishes made with the best British produce. Luckily, since 1908, Government
Hospitality takes care of such functions – before that Prime Ministers had to employ their own servants.
It is not always easy to combine living and working in the same house. When grandchildren came to visit Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, his wife Dorothy put up a notice forbidding roller-skating in the corridors on Cabinet days. One grandson’s hamster escaped through the drains and turned up in the Treasury. Tony and Cherie Blair installed a climbing frame, swing and trampoline in the garden for their four children – and looked out one day to find two visiting politicians showing their sons skateboarding tricks.
Baroness Thatcher thrived on ‘living above the shop’ – as a grocer’s daughter, she was perfectly used to it. But more than one PM’s startled spouse has awoken to find a private secretary sitting on the bed in the Number 10 flat, chatting about business to the PM.
Tony Blair moved his family into the flat above 11 Downing Street – since 1828 the official residence of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. All Prime Ministers since have maintained the swap, preferring the more spacious digs at Number 11. A recent controversy arose over the cost of the refurbishment of the Number 11 flat; Boris Johnson was reportedly alarmed by his wife’s choice of pricey gold wallcoverings.
There is always uncertainty, of course, about how long a PM will be in residence. If general election results don’t go your way, you are expected to depart immediately. Yet even amid the turmoil, time-honoured courtesies are observed. Departing Prime Ministers and their families are ‘clapped out’ of Number 10 by staff lining the corridors. Then the big black door closes one final time.
Left: Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his now wife Carrie Symonds with their son Wilfred in the study speaking via zoom to the midwifes that helped deliver their son in April 2020
