Editing Downing Street (section)

{{Short description|Street in London, England}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2018}}
{{Infobox street
| name                    = Downing Street
| marker_image            = 
| native_name             = 
| native_name_lang        = 
| alternate_name          = 
| image                   = Downing Street gates.jpg
| image_size              =300px 
| image_alt               = 
| image_map               = 
| caption                 = Downing Street seen from Whitehall, 2013
| map_type                =United Kingdom London Westminster 
| map_size                =300px 
| map_caption             =Location within Central London 
| map_alt                 =Location within Central London 
| other_name              = 
| former_names            = 
| part_of                 = 
| namesake                =[[Sir George Downing, 1st Baronet]] 
| type                    = 
| owner                   =[[Government of the United Kingdom|UK Government]] 
| maint                   = 
| length                  =
| length_m                = 217
| length_ft               = 
| length_km               = 
| length_mi               = 
| length_ref              = 
| length_notes            = 
| width                   = 
| area                    = 
| addresses               = 
| location                = 
| postal_code             = SW1A
| underground                    =[[Westminster tube station|Westminster]] {{rint|london|underground}} 
| coordinates             = {{coord|51.5034|-0.1276|display=inline}}
| direction_a             = 
| terminus_a              = [[Whitehall]]
| direction_b             = [[Horse Guards Road|Horse Guards Rd]]
| terminus_b              = 
| junction                = 
| north                   = 
| east                    = 
| south                   = 
| west                    = 
| main_contractor         = 
| cost                    = 
| references              = 
| commissioning_date      = 
| construction_start_date = 
| completion_date         = 1680
| inauguration_date       = <!-- {{Start date|YYYY|MM|DD}} -->
| demolition_date         = 
| designer                = 
| known_for               =Official residences and offices of the [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]], [[Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office]] and the [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]] 
| status                  =Closed to public 
| website                 = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} -->
}}

'''Downing Street''' is a gated street in [[City of Westminster|Westminster]] in [[London]] that houses the [[official residence]]s and offices of the [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]] and the [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]]. In a [[cul-de-sac]] situated off [[Whitehall]], it is {{convert|200|m}} long, and a few minutes' walk from the [[Houses of Parliament]]. Downing Street was built in the 1680s by [[Sir George Downing, 1st Baronet|Sir George Downing]].

For more than three hundred years, it has held the official residences of both the [[First Lord of the Treasury]], the office now synonymous with that of the Prime Minister, and the [[Second Lord of the Treasury]], the office held by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The Prime Minister's official residence is [[10 Downing Street]], and the Chancellor's official residence is [[11 Downing Street|Number 11]]. The government's [[Chief Whip]] has an official residence at [[12 Downing Street|Number 12]].{{efn|In practice, these office-holders may live in different flats in the complex, depending on their and their family's requirements.}} Over time, government offices and officials came to occupy most of the street's townhouses. 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, Commonwealth and Development Office]].  Opposite, for part of the street, the [[Cabinet Office]], initially Treasury, was built to face Whitehall.

The term "Downing Street" is also used as a [[Metonymy|metonym]] for the Prime Minister or the [[Government of the United Kingdom|British Government]] more generally.