10 Downing Street is one of the most famous addresses in the world – not only the place where the Prime Minister lives and works (although sometimes he lives next door – see below), but also another way to refer to the office of the Prime Minister and the decisions of the British Executive. ‘What will Downing Street think?’
A mythic significance...
The visit of Barack Obama reminds us of the building’s central place in our political life. Photographs at the door, with the Prime Minister and visiting dignitaries shaking hands, or with the Prime Minister leading the visitor through the door, are obligatory in any coverage of these events. But the building is not just central to our political life – it’s a part of our national mythology. It’s the place that doesn’t need to shout. Dignified, smart, reserved, private – it has a special personality that is immediately felt.
Just an ordinary house...
The building is a fascinating symbol of power. A townhouse with a modest exterior (it’s actually larger inside than it appears to be). A terraced house with neighbours – just number 10 in a row of identical properties! It doesn’t even have a special name – just the address.
So, while our Queen lives in a Palace just a short walk from Downing Street across Horse Guards’ Parade and along the Mall, our Prime Minister contents himself with an address that proclaims its significance in all the things it does not feel that it needs to display.
That famous door
The door is the building’s focus. This is for obvious reasons: who is going inside to a particular meeting? when will the Prime Minister emerge to make a statement to the press? But the door is also the symbol of power: those who are invited inside – or through – are invited into the very heart of the British Government. Journalists will position themselves with the door behind them to make their reports, even if nothing is happening.
The door acquires something close to a magical resonance: it leads to another world, one which very few of us will ever get to experience. It has something of the flavour of a grown-up wardrobe door, leading not to the snowy wastes of Narnia but to the equally intoxicating adventures of power and fame.
Even when he was using the place only occasionally, Winston Churchill would still insist on being seen using the entrance to reassure the country that the business of government was continuing in the expected way.
Perhaps another point to make about the door is that its importance underlines the building’s modesty – the building's appearance is so unremarkable, nothing else about Number 10 would work as an instantly recognisable symbol!
Doors and more...
You can find out more about the building's door here - and get thinking about the detailed features of other buildings.
At the centre of history
The building has a fascinating history. Among the various excellent online accounts of the story of Number 10, the house’s own website is hard to beat. The building has needed extensive renovation and reconstruction work several times, and the surprising tale of its trials and tribulations suggests an even closer symbolic association with the vicissitudes of British political life. Read the story here.
Some intriguing facts...
Number 11 Downing Street is the official residence of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, but when Tony Blair was Prime Minister he chose to live at Number 11 rather than Number 10 because it had more space for his young family. Number 10 was still his official residence.
For most of the nineteenth century the Prime Minister did not reside at Number 10, lending it to other government ministers or using it as office space. It was only from the late 1870s that it came to be the normal home of the PM.
By the 1950s the condition of Number 10 was so desperate there was even some discussion of demolishing it and building an entirely new Prime Ministerial home.
There is an enormous kitchen in the basement of Number 10, two storeys high with large windows. Does it surprise you that there's enough space?
Using Number 10 as a Teaching Resource
History
Number 10 is a unique microcosm of British History. What can you learn about the period that you’re studying from the building’s fortunes during that period? What does it tell you about how Britain was governed, how the ruling class perceived itself, and the image they wished to project?
In the period you're studying, what does the attitude of its incumbent towards the house tell you about his personality? What did he like about it? What did he dislike? How much time did he spend there?
English
Number 10 is a place with an immediate appeal to the imagination. One of the reasons for this is that it is both very familiar and very unfamiliar: it is a part of our mental furniture, and the door in particular is immediately recognisable (as is the cabinet room), but what would you see if you were stood on the other side of the door? And how do all the rooms fit together? Most of our ideas about these questions are very vague. So it appeals to the imagination because of this mix of the known and the unknown.
It provides a good basis for both imaginative and factual writing. Challenge your class to write a short-short story, no more than 500 words, about someone’s first visit to Number 10. What's the reason for the visit? What surprises them most? Or ask them to write a factual report about a recent event involving Number 10, such as the visit of Barack Obama to the cabinet meeting.
D+T
Investigate the complex story of this building’s renovation and reconstruction work during the twentieth century. What special challenges did this work involve?
Art
Investigate the building’s fixtures and fittings, its paintings and its decorative embellishments. What decorative styles are found inside Number 10? How do you create rooms that are the fitting embodiment of power without appearing overblown?
A mythic significance...
The visit of Barack Obama reminds us of the building’s central place in our political life. Photographs at the door, with the Prime Minister and visiting dignitaries shaking hands, or with the Prime Minister leading the visitor through the door, are obligatory in any coverage of these events. But the building is not just central to our political life – it’s a part of our national mythology. It’s the place that doesn’t need to shout. Dignified, smart, reserved, private – it has a special personality that is immediately felt.
The unassuming townhouse at Christmas time. By Alister Coyne via Flickr CC BY-NC.
The building is a fascinating symbol of power. A townhouse with a modest exterior (it’s actually larger inside than it appears to be). A terraced house with neighbours – just number 10 in a row of identical properties! It doesn’t even have a special name – just the address.
So, while our Queen lives in a Palace just a short walk from Downing Street across Horse Guards’ Parade and along the Mall, our Prime Minister contents himself with an address that proclaims its significance in all the things it does not feel that it needs to display.
That famous door
The door is the building’s focus. This is for obvious reasons: who is going inside to a particular meeting? when will the Prime Minister emerge to make a statement to the press? But the door is also the symbol of power: those who are invited inside – or through – are invited into the very heart of the British Government. Journalists will position themselves with the door behind them to make their reports, even if nothing is happening.
The door acquires something close to a magical resonance: it leads to another world, one which very few of us will ever get to experience. It has something of the flavour of a grown-up wardrobe door, leading not to the snowy wastes of Narnia but to the equally intoxicating adventures of power and fame.
Even when he was using the place only occasionally, Winston Churchill would still insist on being seen using the entrance to reassure the country that the business of government was continuing in the expected way.
Perhaps another point to make about the door is that its importance underlines the building’s modesty – the building's appearance is so unremarkable, nothing else about Number 10 would work as an instantly recognisable symbol!
Doors and more...
You can find out more about the building's door here - and get thinking about the detailed features of other buildings.
Outside the gates at the end of Downing Street. By Caverguy via Flickr CC BY-NC-ND.
The building has a fascinating history. Among the various excellent online accounts of the story of Number 10, the house’s own website is hard to beat. The building has needed extensive renovation and reconstruction work several times, and the surprising tale of its trials and tribulations suggests an even closer symbolic association with the vicissitudes of British political life. Read the story here.
Some intriguing facts...
Number 11 Downing Street is the official residence of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, but when Tony Blair was Prime Minister he chose to live at Number 11 rather than Number 10 because it had more space for his young family. Number 10 was still his official residence.
For most of the nineteenth century the Prime Minister did not reside at Number 10, lending it to other government ministers or using it as office space. It was only from the late 1870s that it came to be the normal home of the PM.
By the 1950s the condition of Number 10 was so desperate there was even some discussion of demolishing it and building an entirely new Prime Ministerial home.
There is an enormous kitchen in the basement of Number 10, two storeys high with large windows. Does it surprise you that there's enough space?
Using Number 10 as a Teaching Resource
History
Number 10 is a unique microcosm of British History. What can you learn about the period that you’re studying from the building’s fortunes during that period? What does it tell you about how Britain was governed, how the ruling class perceived itself, and the image they wished to project?
In the period you're studying, what does the attitude of its incumbent towards the house tell you about his personality? What did he like about it? What did he dislike? How much time did he spend there?
English
Number 10 is a place with an immediate appeal to the imagination. One of the reasons for this is that it is both very familiar and very unfamiliar: it is a part of our mental furniture, and the door in particular is immediately recognisable (as is the cabinet room), but what would you see if you were stood on the other side of the door? And how do all the rooms fit together? Most of our ideas about these questions are very vague. So it appeals to the imagination because of this mix of the known and the unknown.
It provides a good basis for both imaginative and factual writing. Challenge your class to write a short-short story, no more than 500 words, about someone’s first visit to Number 10. What's the reason for the visit? What surprises them most? Or ask them to write a factual report about a recent event involving Number 10, such as the visit of Barack Obama to the cabinet meeting.
D+T
Investigate the complex story of this building’s renovation and reconstruction work during the twentieth century. What special challenges did this work involve?
Art
Investigate the building’s fixtures and fittings, its paintings and its decorative embellishments. What decorative styles are found inside Number 10? How do you create rooms that are the fitting embodiment of power without appearing overblown?
