11 Downing Street
| Number 11 Downing Street | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Architectural style | Georgian |
| Town or city | City of Westminster |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 51°30′12″N 0°07′40″W / 51.503396°N 0.127640°W |
| Current tenants | Second Lord of the Treasury (Chancellor of the Exchequer) George Osborne and family |
| Construction started | 1682 |
| Completed | 1684 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Sir Christopher Wren |
| Website | |
| http://www.number10.gov.uk/ | |
Listed Building – Grade I | |
| Reference no. | 1210759[1] |
11 Downing Street (sometimes referred to as just Number 11) is the official residence of Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer (who traditionally also has the title of Second Lord of the Treasury). The residence was officially established, along with the official residence of the Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street, in 1682.
The first Chancellor to live there was Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice in 1806, but Number 11 did not become the Chancellor's official residence until 1828.[2]
It is currently the official residence of George Osborne, who was appointed as Chancellor by Prime Minister David Cameron on 11 May 2010.
Background
Number 11 is part of a charcoal-brick Georgian-era converted mansion, overlooking St. James's Park, that consists—from left to right—of Numbers 12, 11 and 10.
Number 11 is located on the left side of Number 10, the official residence of the Prime Minister (or First Lord of the Treasury) since the early 19th century. Number 12, to the left of Number 11, is the official residence of the Chief Whip, but it is now used as the Prime Minister's press office.
As a result of many internal alterations over the years, the three terraced houses are internally a single complex; one can walk from number 11 to number 10, via an internal connecting door, without using the street doors.
Recent occupancy
Tony Blair became Prime Minister in 1997 and chose to reside in Number 11, rather than Number 10, because Number 11 has a larger living area; Blair at that time was living with his wife and their several young children, while Gordon Brown, his Chancellor of the Exchequer, was at that point still a bachelor.[3] In 2007, when Brown became Prime Minister, he at first chose to live in Number 11,[4] but soon moved back to Number 10; Brown was by then married but had fewer children than the Blairs.
Following the 2010 general election, the incoming prime minister, David Cameron, moved into 11, instead of 10 Downing Street, because George Osborne chose to remain in his Notting Hill home.[5] In early August 2011, Osborne moved into Number 10.[6]
References
- ^ Historic England. "10 Downing Street (1210759)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
- ^ "History of Number 11 Downing Street". UK Government. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "10 Downing Street Today". Archived from the original on 7 June 2007. Retrieved 29 May 2007.
- ^ Parliament — Ministerial Residences (8 July 2008)
- ^ "George Osborne spurns Downing Street to remain a Notting Hill Tory". The Daily Telegraph. 26 June 2010.
- ^ "Osborne's home front". The Sun.
External links
- 11 Downing Street section from the Survey of London online
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| Residence | ||
| Prime Minister's Office | ||
| Miscellaneous | ||