Downing Street

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Downing Street in London, United Kingdom has for more than three hundred years housed the official residences of two of the most senior British Cabinet ministers: the First Lord of the Treasury, an office now synonymous with that of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; and the Second Lord of the Treasury, an office held by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The Prime Minister’s official residence is 10 Downing Street; the Chancellor’s official residence is next door at Number 11. The government’s Chief Whip has an official residence at Number 12, although the current Chief Whip’s residence is at Number 9.

Downing Street is in Whitehall in central London, a few minutes’ walk from the Houses of Parliament and a little farther from Buckingham Palace. The street was built in the 1680s by Sir George Downing on the site of a mansion, Hampden House. The houses on the south side of the street were demolished in the 19th century to make way for government offices now occupied by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. “Downing Street” is used as a metonym for the Government of the United Kingdom.

Of course this is a rather heavily, and rightly so, guarded part of the country with armed Police. It would of course be fantastic if I could drive the Mini in front of the door to number 10 and take a picture but that is never going to happen. Maybe I could drive the PM to his cabinet meeting lol.

The pictures I took lead to and from Downing Street with the Cenotaph and other well known landmarks. It is a wonderful, though very busy, place to visit.