Editing 10 Downing Street (section)

== History of the building ==

=== Original Number 10 ===
Number 10 Downing Street was originally three properties: a [[mansion]] overlooking [[St James's Park]] called "the House at the Back", a [[Townhouse (Great Britain)|town house]] behind it, and a [[cottage]]. The town house, from which the modern building gets its name, was one of several built by [[Sir George Downing, 1st Baronet|George Downing]] between 1682 and 1684.

Downing, a noted spy for [[Oliver Cromwell]] and later [[Charles II of England|King Charles II]], invested in property and acquired considerable wealth.{{sfnm|Bolitho|1957|1pp=16–21|Jones|1985|2pp=24–32|Feely|1982|3pp=17–31}} In 1654, he purchased the lease on land south of St James's Park, adjacent to the House at the Back within walking distance of parliament. Downing planned to build a row of terraced town houses "for persons of good quality to inhabit in&nbsp;..."{{sfn|Minney|1963|p=28}} The street on which he built them now bears his name, and the largest became part of Number 10 Downing Street.<ref>{{EB1911|wstitle=Downing, Sir George |volume=8 |page=459}}</ref>

[[File:Sir George Downing by Thomas Smith.jpeg|right|thumb|Portrait of [[Sir George Downing, 1st Baronet|George Downing]] painted {{Circa|1675}}–1690 by Thomas Smith, The [[Fogg Museum]]]]
Straightforward as the investment seemed, it proved otherwise. The Hampden family had a lease on the land that they refused to relinquish. Downing fought their claim, but failed and had to wait 30 years before he could build.{{sfn|Feely|1982|pp=28–31}} When the Hampden lease expired, Downing received permission to build on land further west to take advantage of more recent property developments. The new warrant issued in 1682 reads: "Sir George Downing&nbsp;... [is authorised] to build new and more houses&nbsp;... subject to the proviso that it be not built any nearer than 14&nbsp;feet of the wall of the said Park at the West end thereof".{{sfn|Minney|1963|p=28}} Between 1682 and 1684, Downing built a [[cul-de-sac]] of two-storey town houses with coach-houses, stables and views of St James's Park. Over the years, the addresses changed several times. In 1787, Number 5 became "Number 10".{{sfn|Jones|1985|p=41}}

Downing employed [[Christopher Wren]] to design the houses. Although large, they were put up quickly and cheaply on soft soil with shallow foundations. [[Winston Churchill]] wrote that Number 10 was "shaky and lightly built by the profiteering contractor whose name they bear".{{sfn|Bolitho|1957|p=20}}

The upper end of the Downing Street cul-de-sac closed off the access to St James's Park, making the street quiet and private. An advertisement in 1720 described it as "a pretty open Place, especially at the upper end, where are four or five very large and well-built Houses, fit for Persons of Honour and Quality; each House having a pleasant Prospect into St James's Park, with a Tarras Walk".{{sfn|Minney|1963|p=34}} The cul-de-sac had several distinguished residents: [[George Granville, 1st Baron Lansdowne]] from 1692 to 1696 and the [[Henry de Nassau d'Auverquerque, 1st Earl of Grantham|Earl of Grantham]] from 1699 to 1703.{{sfn|Minney|1963|p=34}}

Downing did not live in Downing Street.{{sfnm|Jones|1985|1p=32|Feely|1982|2p=32}} In 1675, he retired to [[Cambridge]], where he died in 1684, a few months after building was completed. In 1800, the wealth he had accumulated was used to found [[Downing College, Cambridge]], as had been his wish should his descendants fail in the male line. Downing's portrait hangs in the entrance hall of Number 10.{{sfn|Jones|1985|loc=see back cover picture credited to Robert Hill @ BBC}}

=== History of the "House at the Back" before 1733 ===
[[File:The Old Palace of Whitehall by Hendrik Danckerts.jpg|thumb|''The Palace of Whitehall'' by [[Hendrick Danckerts]] {{Circa|1660}}–1679. Viewed from [[St James's Park]], the "House at the Back" is on the right; the octagonal building next to it is the Cockpit.]]
{{anchor|Lichfield House}}<!--[[Lichfield House, Whitehall]] redirects here-->
The "House at the Back", the largest of the three houses which were combined to make Number 10, was a mansion built in about 1530 next to the [[Palace of Whitehall]]. Rebuilt, expanded, and renovated many times since, it was originally one of several buildings that made up the "Cockpit Lodgings", so-called because they were attached to an octagonal structure used for [[cock-fighting]]. Early in the 17th century, the Cockpit was converted to a concert hall and theatre; after the [[Glorious Revolution]] of 1688, some of the first cabinet meetings were held there secretly.{{sfn|Minney|1963|p=23}}

For many years, the "House at the Back" was the home of [[Thomas Knyvet, 1st Baron Knyvet|Thomas Knyvet]], Keeper of [[Whitehall Palace]], famous for capturing [[Guy Fawkes]] in 1605 and foiling his plot to assassinate King [[James VI and I|James I]]. The previous year, Knyvet had moved into a house next door, approximately where Number 10 is today.{{sfnm|Jones|1985|1pp=16–18|Minney|1963|2pp=23–24}}

From that time, the "House at the Back" was usually occupied by members of the royal family or the government. [[Elizabeth of Bohemia|Princess Elizabeth]], eldest daughter of King [[James VI and I|James I]], lived there from 1604 until 1613 when she married [[Frederick V, Elector Palatine]] and moved to [[Heidelberg]]. She was the grandmother of King [[George I of Great Britain|George I]], the [[Elector of Hanover]], who became King of Great Britain in 1714, and was a great-grandmother of King [[George II of Great Britain|George II]], who presented the house to Walpole in 1732.{{sfn|Minney|1963|p=24}}

[[George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle]], the general responsible for the [[Restoration (England)|Restoration of the Monarchy]] in 1660, lived there from 1660 until his death in 1671. As head of the Great Treasury Commission of 1667–1672, Albemarle transformed accounting methods and allowed the Crown greater control over expenses. His secretary, [[Sir George Downing, 1st Baronet|George Downing]], who built Downing Street, is thought to have created these changes. Albemarle is the first treasury minister to have lived in what became the home of the First Lord of the Treasury and prime minister.{{sfn|Minney|1963|pp=24–25}}

In 1671 [[George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham]] took possession when he joined the [[Cabal Ministry]]. At considerable expense, Buckingham rebuilt the house. The result was a spacious mansion, lying parallel to Whitehall Palace with a view of St James Park from its garden.{{sfn|Jones|1985|pp=20–21}}

After Buckingham retired in 1676, [[Charlotte Lee, Countess of Lichfield|Lady Charlotte Fitzroy]], Charles II's daughter, moved in when she married [[Edward Lee, 1st Earl of Lichfield]]. The Crown authorised extensive rebuilding which included adding a storey, thus giving it three main floors, an attic and basement. This structure can be seen today as the rear section of Number 10.{{sfn|Jones|1985|p=21}} ''(See Plan of the Premises Granted to the Earl and Countess of Lichfield in 1677)''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/image.aspx?compid=67934&filename=fig50.gif&pubid=748 |title=fig50 | publisher=[[British History Online]] |access-date=15 March 2013}}</ref><ref name="multiref4">British History Online, From: '[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=67934 No. 10, Downing Street] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140829162757/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=67934 |date=29 August 2014 }}', [[Survey of London]]: volume 14: St Margaret, Westminster, part III: Whitehall II (1931), pp. 113–141. Date accessed: 22 July 2008.</ref> The likely reason that repair was required is that the house had settled in the swampy ground near the Thames, causing structural damage.<ref>The diarist [[Pepys]] recorded a high tide when Whitehall was under water and it is known that buildings in the area require deep foundations to avoid settling.</ref> Like Downing Street, it rested on a shallow foundation, a design error that caused problems until 1960 when the modern Number 10 was rebuilt on deep pilings.{{sfn|Minney|1963|p=25}}

The Lichfields followed [[James II of England|James II]] into exile after the [[Glorious Revolution]]. Two years later in 1690, [[William III of England|William III]] and [[Mary II of England|Mary II]] gave the "House at the Back" to [[Henry de Nassau, Lord Overkirk|Hendrik van Nassau-Ouwerkerk]], a Dutch general who had assisted in securing the Crown for the Prince of Orange. Nassau, who Anglicised his name to "Overkirk", lived there until his death in 1708.{{sfn|Jones|1985|p=21}}

The "House at the Back" reverted to the Crown when Lady Overkirk died in 1720. The Treasury issued an order "for repairing and fitting it up in the best and most substantial manner" at a cost of £2,522. The work included: "The Back passage into Downing street to be repaired and a new door; a New Necessary House to be made; To take down the Useless passage formerly made for the Maids of Honour to go into Downing Street, when the Queen lived at the Cockpit; To New Cast a great Lead Cistern & pipes and to lay the Water into the house & a new frame for ye Cistern".{{sfn|Jones|1985|p=23}}<ref name="multiref4"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/image.aspx?compid=67934&filename=fig51.gif&pubid=748 |title=fig51 |publisher=British History Online |access-date=15 March 2013}}</ref>

The name of the "House at the Back" changed with the occupant, from Lichfield House to Overkirk House in 1690 to Bothmer House in 1720.<ref name="Jones2005">{{cite book|last=Jones|first=Nigel R.|title=Architecture of England, Scotland, and Wales|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=epsFOeV1mCMC&pg=PA187|year=2005|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-31850-4|page=187}}</ref>

=== First politician and "head of government" in the house ===
[[Hans Caspar von Bothmer|Johann Caspar von Bothmer]], Premier Minister of the [[Electorate of Hanover]], head of the [[German Chancery]] and adviser to George I and II, took up residency in 1720. Although Bothmer complained about "the ruinous Condition of the Premises",{{sfn|Minney|1963|p=33}} he lived there until his death in 1732. Even though Count von Bothmer was not British, he was a subject of George I and George II and the first politician and head of a government who resided in 10 Downing Street.<ref>{{Cite web|title=No. 10, Downing Street {{!}} British History Online|url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vol14/pt3/pp113-141|access-date=17 June 2021|website=www.british-history.ac.uk|archive-date=29 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140829162757/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=67934|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== First Lord's house: 1733–1735 ===
[[File:Jean-Baptiste van Loo - Robert Walpole.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Robert Walpole]] accepted [[George II of Great Britain|George II]]'s gift of the house at the back and two Downing Street houses on behalf of the office of [[First Lord of the Treasury]].]]

When Count Bothmer died, ownership of the "House at the Back" reverted to the Crown. George II took this opportunity to offer it to Robert Walpole, often called the first prime minister, as a gift for his services to the nation: stabilising its finances, keeping it at peace and securing the Hanoverian succession.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cKU4lNdIfeAC&pg=PR34|title=Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society|year=1871|page=xxxiv|access-date=18 March 2023|archive-date=26 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326164818/https://books.google.com/books?id=cKU4lNdIfeAC&pg=PR34|url-status=live}}</ref>

Walpole did not accept the gift for himself.<ref>See letter, dated, "Downing Street, 30 June 1742", from [[Horace Walpole]] to [[Horace Mann]]: "I am writing to you in one of the charming rooms towards the Park: it is I am willing to enjoy this sweet corner while I may, for we are soon to quit it. Mrs. Sandys came yesterday to give us warning; [[Lord Wilmington]] has lent it to them. ''Sir Robert might have had it for his own at first: but would only take it as First Lord of the Treasury.'' He goes into a small house of his own in Arlington Street, opposite to where we formerly lived". (Horace Walpole's Letters, ed. Cunningham, 1857, I, p. 246.) British History Online, From: '[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=67934 No. 10, Downing Street] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140829162757/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=67934 |date=29 August 2014 }}', Survey of London: volume 14: St Margaret, Westminster, part III: Whitehall II (1931), pp. 113–141. Date accessed: 21 July 2008.</ref> He proposed—and the King agreed—that the Crown give the properties to the Office of First Lord of the Treasury. Walpole would live there as the incumbent First Lord, but would vacate it for the next one.{{sfn|Feely|1982|p=34}}

To enlarge the new house, Walpole persuaded Mr Chicken, the tenant of a cottage next door, to move to another house in Downing Street.{{sfn|Bolitho|1957|p=25}} This small house and the mansion at the back were then incorporated into Number 10. Walpole commissioned [[William Kent]] to convert them into one building. Kent joined the larger houses by building a two-storey structure between them, consisting of one long room on the ground floor and several above. The remaining interior space was converted into a courtyard. He connected the Downing Street houses with a corridor. Having united the structures, Kent gutted and rebuilt the interior. He then surmounted the third storey of the house at the back with a pediment. To allow Walpole quicker access to Parliament, Kent closed the north side entrance from St James's Park, and made the door in Downing Street the main entrance.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=966852&resourceID=19191|title=Monument Number 966852|publisher=Heritage Gateway|access-date=15 February 2023|archive-date=15 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230215220349/https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=966852&resourceID=19191|url-status=live}}</ref>

The rebuilding took three years. On 23 September 1735, the ''London Daily Post'' announced that: "Yesterday the Right Hon. Sir Robert Walpole, with his Lady and Family, removed from their House in St James's Square, to his new House, adjoining to the Treasury in St James's Park".{{sfn|Minney|1963|p=50}} The cost of conversion is unknown. Originally estimated at £8,000, the final cost probably exceeded £20,000.{{sfn|Seldon|1999|p=16}}

Walpole did not enter through the now-famous door; that would not be installed until forty years later. Kent's door was modest, belying the spacious elegance beyond. The First Lord's new, albeit temporary, home had sixty rooms, with hardwood and marble floors, crown moulding, elegant pillars and marble mantelpieces; those on the west side with views of St James's Park. One of the largest rooms was a study measuring forty feet by twenty with enormous windows overlooking St James's Park. "My Lord's Study"{{sfn|Jones|1985|p=46}} (as Kent labelled it in his drawings) would later become the [[#Cabinet Room|Cabinet Room]] where prime ministers meet with the Cabinet ministers.{{sfn|Minney|1963|p=47}}

Shortly after moving in, Walpole ordered that a portion of the land outside his study be converted into a terrace and garden. Letters patent issued in April 1736 state that: "...&nbsp;a piece of garden ground situated in his Majesty's park of St James's, & belonging & adjoining to the house now inhabited by the Right Honourable the Chancellor of His Majesty's Exchequer, hath been lately made & fitted up at the Charge&nbsp;... of the Crown".<ref>{{cite web|title='Treasury Books and Papers: April 1736', in Calendar of Treasury Books and Papers, Volume 3, 1735-1738|first=William A.|last=Shaw|location=London|year=1900|pages=165–168|publisher=British History Online|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-treasury-books-papers/vol3/pp165-168|access-date=15 February 2023|archive-date=5 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230705130452/https://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-treasury-books-papers/vol3/pp165-168|url-status=live}}</ref>

The same document confirmed that Number 10 Downing Street was: "meant to be annexed & united to the Office of [[HM Treasury|his Majesty's Treasury]] & to be & to remain for the Use & Habitation of the first [[Lords Commissioners of the Treasury|Commissioner of his Majesty's Treasury]] for the time being".{{sfn|Minney|1963|pp=46–47}}

=== 10 Downing Street and Kent's Treasury Building ===
At about the same time that William Kent was combining the Downing Street townhouse with the house at the back, he was also commissioned to design and construct a new Treasury building on the site of the old Tudor Cockpit located behind Downing Street. This project was completed in 1737 and included corridors connecting the Treasury building with 10 Downing Street allowing Walpole, as [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]] as well as First Lord of the Treasury, direct and convenient access to the Treasury offices. In effect the Treasury building became an annex of 10 Downing Street and its staff worked directly for Walpole on treasury, patronage and other public business. This arrangement remained in effect until the middle of the 19th century and until then all prime ministers who were also Chancellor took advantage of it. After Prime Minister [[Robert Peel]] "gave up" being Chancellor in 1841, and this separation of positions gradually became a convention of the constitution, a locked door was installed between the buildings limiting the Prime Minister's access to the Treasury and its staff. Due to bomb damage in 1940, the Treasury relocated to the [[Government Offices Great George Street]]. Then in 1963 the Cabinet Office (including the Prime Minister's Office) and later the Civil Service (with the Prime minister as [[Minister for the Civil Service]]) moved into the renovated Kent Treasury Building. "Under (Prime Minister) Blair . . . the locked door, symbolically and physically dividing No. 10 from the Cabinet Office, was passed through with such frequency that its meaning was lost."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Blick |first=Andrew |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/742600769 |title=Premiership : the development, nature and power of the British Prime Minister |date=2010 |publisher=Imprint Academic |others=G. W. Jones |isbn=978-1-84540-647-9 |location=Exeter |pages=134–135 and 144-145|oclc=742600769}}</ref>

=== A "vast, awkward house": 1735–1902 ===
[[File:OlderPittThe Younger.jpg|thumb|upright|[[William Pitt the Younger]] lived in Number 10 for twenty years, longer than any Prime Minister before or since.]]

Walpole lived in Number 10 until 1742. Although he had accepted it on behalf of future [[First Lord of the Treasury|First Lords of the Treasury]], it would be 21 years before any of his successors chose to live there; the five who followed Walpole preferred their own homes. This was the pattern until the beginning of the 20th century. Of the 31 First Lords from 1735 to 1902, only 16 (including Walpole) lived in Number 10.{{sfn|Jones|1985|p=51}}

One reason many First Lords chose not to live in Number 10 was that most owned London [[Townhouse (Great Britain)|town houses]] superior in size and quality. To them, Number 10 was unimpressive. Their possession of the house, albeit temporary, was a [[perquisite]] they could bestow as a political reward. Most lent it to the [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]], others to lesser officials or to friends and relatives.{{sfn|Minney|1963|p=29}}<ref>{{harvnb|Jones|1985|p=52}}. [[Henry Pelham]], for example, had his own spacious home and had no need for Number 10. In a piece of "blatant political corruption", he allowed his son-in-law, [[Henry Pelham-Clinton, 2nd Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne|Henry Clinton]], Earl of Lincoln, to live there from 1745 to 1753 even though Clinton was not involved in politics.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Minney|1963|pp=173 and 179}}. [[Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool|Lord Liverpool]] assigned it to his two Chancellors of the Exchequer, [[Nicholas Vansittart]] (1812–1823) and [[Frederick Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich|Frederick Robinson]] (1823–1827).</ref><ref>British History Online, Letter (B.M. Addl. MS. 38292, f. 11) from Lord Liverpool to [[Charles Ellis, 1st Baron Seaford|Charles Ellis]], dated 22 January 1823, is of interest.{{quote|When you spoke to me some time ago upon the subject of the House in Downing Street, I was under the impression, as you were yourself, that the house was the King's & that he might dispose of it in any manner he might think proper. ''Upon Inquiry, however, it appeared that the House was attached to the Treasury as a Part of the Office. That the First Lord of the Treasury occupies it if he thinks proper. If he declines it, the Chancellor of the Exchequer occupies it, not as Chancellor of the Exchequer, but as second in the Commission of the Treasury. That if he declined it, it would go to the next in the Commission, or it might possibly be disposed of by the Board to any Member or Officer of the Treasury; but could not, & never has been detached from it. You are mistaken in supposing that Mr. Vansittart is the only Chancellor of the Exchequer who, without being first Lord of the Treasury, occupied it.'' [[Lord North]] certainly occupied it during the two years he was Chancellor of the Exchequer only. I believe Mr. [[Charles Townshend]] occupied it, but I know [[William Dowdeswell (politician, born 1721)|Mr. Dowdeswell]] did, & it is remarkable that he is, I believe, the only instance of a Chancellor of the Exchequer upon Record who was not in the Cabinet. The House stands in fact upon the same footing as the Houses of the Admiralty, which could not be assigned to any Person not belonging to that office.}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Bolitho|1957|p=116}}. A few peers lived in Number 10 out of necessity. The [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|Duke of Wellington]], for example, grudgingly lived there for eighteen months between 1828 and 1830 because his own home, [[Apsley House]], was undergoing extensive renovations. He left as soon as it was finished.</ref>{{notetag|At the end of the 19th century, [[Lord Salisbury]], the last Prime Minister not to concurrently hold the post of First Lord of the Treasury, lived in his town house on Arlington Street. During Salisbury's [[Unionist government, 1895–1905|last ministry]] from 1895 to 1902, the First Lord was his nephew and successor [[Arthur Balfour]], the [[Leader of the House of Commons]]; it was thus Balfour who resided in Number 10 in this time.{{sfn|Minney|1963|p=322}}}}

Another reason for its unpopularity was that Number 10 was a hazardous place in which to live; it was prone to sinking because it was built on soft soil and a shallow foundation, and its floors buckled and walls and chimneys cracked. It became unsafe and frequently required repairs. In 1766, for example, [[Charles Townshend]], Chancellor of the Exchequer, pointed out that the house was in a dilapidated condition. His architect's letter to the Treasury stated: "...we have caused the House in Downing Street belonging to the Treasury to be surveyed, & find the Walls of the old part of the said House next the street to be much decayed, the Floors & Chimneys much sunk from the level".{{sfn|Minney|1963|pp=83–84}} Townshend ordered extensive repairs, which were still incomplete eight years later. A note from [[Lord North]] to the [[Office of Works]], dated September 1774, asks for the work on the front of the house, "which was begun by a Warrant from the Treasury dated 9 August 1766",{{sfn|Minney|1963|p=117}} to be finished.<ref name="multiref4"/><ref>[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/image.aspx?compid=67934&filename=fig52.gif&pubid=748 fig52] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240106100709/https://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vol14/pt3/pp113-141 |date=6 January 2024 }}, british-history.ac.uk</ref>

Treasury officials complained that the building was costing too much to maintain; some suggested that it should be razed and a new house constructed on the site or elsewhere. In 1782 the Board of Works reporting on "the dangerous state of the old part of the House", stated that "no time be lost in taking down said building".{{sfn|Jones|1985|p=71}} In 1783 the [[William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland|Duke of Portland]] moved out because it was once again in need of repair. A committee found that the money spent so far was insufficient. This time the Board of Works declared that "the Repairs, Alterations & Additions at the Chancellor of the Exchequer's House will amount to the sum of £5,580, exclusive of the sum for which they already have His Majesty's Warrant. And praying a Warrant for the said sum of £5,580—and also praying an Imprest of that sum to enable them to pay the Workmen".{{sfn|Jones|1985|p=71}} This proved to be a gross underestimate; the final bill was over £11,000. The ''[[Morning Herald]]'' fumed about the expense: "£500&nbsp;pounds p.a. preceding the Great Repair, and £11,000 the Great Repair itself! So much has this extraordinary edifice cost the country – For one [[Moiety title|moiety]] of the sum a much better dwelling might have been purchased!"{{sfn|Jones|1985|p=72}}<ref>[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/image.aspx?compid=68051&filename=figure0748-111.gif&pubid=748 figure0748-111] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210826184811/https://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vol14/pt3/plate-111 |date=26 August 2021 }}, british-history.ac.uk</ref><ref>British History Online, From: '[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=68051 Plate 111: No. 10, Downing Street: plan of alterations in 1781] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927121744/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=68051 |date=27 September 2013 }}', Survey of London: volume 14: St Margaret, Westminster, part III: Whitehall II (1931), pp. 111. Date accessed: 22 July 2008.</ref>

A few prime ministers however did enjoy living in Number 10. Lord North, who conducted the war against the [[American Revolution]], lived there happily with his family from 1767 to 1782. [[William Pitt the Younger]], who made it his home for twenty years (longer than any First Lord before or since) from 1783 to 1801 and from 1804 to 1806, referred to it as "My vast, awkward house".{{sfn|Minney|1963|p=117}} While there, Pitt reduced the national debt, formed the [[Triple Alliance (1788)|Triple Alliance]] against France and won passage of the [[Act of Union 1800|Act of Union]] that created the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland]]. [[F. J. Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich]], took a special liking to the house in the late 1820s and spent state funds lavishly remodelling the interior.{{sfn|Minney|1963|pp=182–183}}
[[File:No 10 Downing Street, 1888 by Philip Norman.jpg|thumb|No 10 Downing Street, 1888 by [[Philip Norman (artist)|Philip Norman]]]]
[[File:Garden of No 10 Downing Street, 1888 by Philip Norman.jpg|thumb|Garden of No 10 Downing Street, 1888 by [[Philip Norman (artist)|Philip Norman]]]]
Nevertheless, for 70 years following Pitt's death in 1806, Number 10 was rarely used as the First Lord's residence. From 1834 to 1877, it was either vacant or used only for offices and meetings.{{sfn|Jones|1985|p=51}}

Downing Street declined at the turn of the 19th century, becoming surrounded with run-down buildings, dark alleys, the scene of crime and prostitution. Earlier, the government had taken over the other Downing Street houses: the [[Colonial Office]] occupied Number 14 in 1798; the [[Foreign Office]] was at Number 16 and the houses on either side; the West India Department was in Number 18; and the Tithe Commissioners in Number 20. The houses deteriorated from neglect, became unsafe, and one by one were demolished. By 1857 Downing Street's townhouses were all gone except for Number 10, [[Number 11 Downing Street|Number 11]] (customarily the Chancellor of the Exchequer's residence), and [[12 Downing Street|Number 12]] (used as offices for Government Whips). In 1879 a fire destroyed the upper floors of Number 12; it was renovated but only as a single-storey structure.{{sfn|Seldon|1999|p=23}}{{sfn|Jones|1985|p=96}}''<ref>[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/image.aspx?compid=68053&filename=figure0748-113.gif&pubid=748 figure0748-113] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210826184736/https://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vol14/pt3/plate-113 |date=26 August 2021 }}, british-history.ac.uk</ref>''<ref>[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/image.aspx?compid=68052&filename=figure0748-112.gif&pubid=748 figure0748-112] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240106100709/https://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vol14/pt3/plate-112 |date=6 January 2024 }}, british-history.ac.uk</ref>

=== Revival and recognition: 1902–1960 ===
When Lord Salisbury retired in 1902, his nephew, [[Arthur James Balfour]], became prime minister. It was an easy transition: he was already First Lord of the Treasury and he was already living in Number 10. Balfour revived the custom that Number 10 is the First Lord and Prime Minister's official residence.<ref name="multiref4"/>

[[File:Churchill V sign HU 55521.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Winston Churchill]] emerging from Number 10 in 1943|alt=]]
Without a bomb shelter, during [[World War II]] the Prime Minister abandoned Number 10 instead using a flat in the Foreign office that became known as the No.10 Annexe, and lay above the much more comprehensive underground bunker used by [[Winston Churchill]] and now known as the [[Churchill War Rooms]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.iwm.org.uk/sites/default/files/cwr_factsheet_centenary.pdf|title=Churchill War Rooms Factsheet|publisher=Imperial War Museum|access-date=3 July 2023|archive-date=3 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230703173237/https://www.iwm.org.uk/sites/default/files/cwr_factsheet_centenary.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> To reassure the people that his government was functioning normally, he insisted on being seen entering and leaving Number 10 occasionally, and indeed, continued to use it for meetings and dinners despite being urged not to.{{sfn|Minney|1963|p=409}} [[Harold Wilson]], during his second ministry from 1974 to 1976, lived in his home in [[Lord North Street]] because [[Mary Wilson, Baroness Wilson of Rievaulx|Mary Wilson]] wanted "a proper home".{{sfn|Jones|1985|p=156}}

[[File:Air Raid Damage in London during the Second World War H36089.jpg|thumb|left|The damaged drawing room of 10 Downing Street following a bomb raid in February 1944.]]
Despite these exceptions, Number 10 has been known as the prime minister's official home for over one hundred years. By the turn of the 20th century, photography and the penny press had linked Number 10 in the public mind with the premiership. The introduction of films and television would strengthen this association. Pictures of prime ministers with distinguished guests at the door became commonplace. With or without the prime minister present, visitors had their picture taken. Suffragettes posed in front of the door when they petitioned [[H. H. Asquith]] for women's rights in 1913, a picture that became famous and was circulated around the world. In 1931, [[Mahatma Gandhi]], wearing a traditional homespun ''[[dhoti]]'', posed leaving Number 10 after meeting with [[Ramsay MacDonald]] to discuss India's independence.{{sfn|Minney|1963|p=393}} This picture, too, became famous, especially in India. The freedom fighters could see their leader had been received in the prime minister's home. Couse's elegant, understated door—stark black, framed in cream white with a bold white "10" clearly visible—was the perfect backdrop to record such events. Prime Ministers made historic announcements from the front step. Waving the [[Munich Agreement|Anglo-German Agreement of Friendship]], [[Neville Chamberlain]] proclaimed "Peace with honour" in 1938 from Number 10 after his meeting with [[Adolf Hitler]] in Munich.{{sfn|Minney|1963|p=402}} During World War II, Churchill was photographed many times emerging confidently from Number 10 holding up two fingers in the [[V sign|sign for "Victory"]]. The building itself, however, did not escape the [[The Blitz|London Blitz]] entirely unscathed; in February 1944 a bomb fell on nearby [[Horse Guards Parade]] and some of the drawing-room windows were destroyed.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205215712|title=Air Raid Damage in London|publisher=Imperial War Museum|access-date=15 February 2023|archive-date=15 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230215220644/https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205215712|url-status=live}}</ref>

The symbol of British government, Number 10 became a gathering place for protesters. [[Emmeline Pankhurst]] and other [[suffragette]] leaders stormed Downing Street in 1908;{{sfn|Minney|1963|pp=333–334}} anti-[[Vietnam War]] protestors marched there in the 1960s, as did anti-[[Iraq War]] protestors in 2005.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/sep/24/iraq.politics|title=Thousands protest against Iraq war|date=24 September 2005|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=15 February 2023|archive-date=15 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230215220644/https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/sep/24/iraq.politics|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Rebuilding: 1960–1990 ===
[[File:President Ronald Reagan Meeting with Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher at 10 Downing Street in London, England.jpg|thumb|upright|Prime Minister [[Margaret Thatcher]] and U.S. President [[Ronald Reagan]] at 10 Downing Street in 1982.]]
By the middle of the 20th century, Number 10 was falling apart again. The deterioration had been obvious for some time. The number of people allowed in the upper floors was limited for fear the bearing walls would collapse. The staircase had sunk several inches; some steps were buckled and the balustrade was out of alignment. [[Dry rot]] was widespread throughout. The interior wood in the Cabinet Room's double columns was like sawdust. Skirting boards, doors, sills and other woodwork were riddled and weakened with disease. After reconstruction had begun, miners dug down into the foundations and found that the huge wooden beams supporting the house had decayed.{{sfn|Minney|1963|pp=428}}{{sfn|Jones|1985|pp=153–154}}

In 1958, a committee under the chairmanship of the [[David Lindsay, 28th Earl of Crawford|Earl of Crawford and Balcarres]] was appointed by [[Harold Macmillan]] to investigate the condition of the house and make recommendations. In the committee's report there was some discussion of tearing down the building and constructing an entirely new residence but because the prime minister's home had become an icon of British architecture like [[Windsor Castle]], Buckingham Palace and the Houses of Parliament, the committee recommended that Number 10 (and Numbers 11 and 12) should be rebuilt using as much of the original materials as possible.{{sfn|Minney|1963|pp=428}} The interior would be photographed, measured, disassembled, and restored. A new foundation with deep pilings would be laid and the original buildings reassembled on top of it, allowing for much needed expansion and modernisation. Any original materials that were beyond repair&nbsp;– such as the pair of double columns in the Cabinet Room&nbsp;– would be replicated in detail. This was a formidable undertaking: the three buildings contained over 200 rooms spread out over five floors.{{sfn|Seldon|1999|p=32}}

The architect [[Raymond Erith]] carried out the design for this painstaking work{{sfn|Minney|1963|pp=429–430}} and the contractor that undertook it was [[Mowlem|John Mowlem & Co]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1351908/Sir-Edgar-Beck.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1351908/Sir-Edgar-Beck.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Sir Edgar Beck |work=The Telegraph|date=9 August 2000 |access-date=5 June 2012 |location=London}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
''The Times'' reported initially that the cost for the project would be £400,000. After more careful studies were completed, it was concluded that the "total cost was likely to be £1,250,000" and the work would take two years to complete.<ref>The Times, ''Downing Street Reconstruction to Cost £1,250,000'', December 1959</ref> In the end, the cost was close to £3,000,000 and the work took almost three years due in large part to 14 labour strikes. There were also delays when archaeological excavations uncovered important artefacts dating from Roman, Saxon and medieval times.{{sfnm|Seldon|1999|1p=32|Jones|1985|2p=154}} Macmillan lived in [[Admiralty House, London|Admiralty House]] during the reconstruction.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oGLGF9g_IIEC&pg=PA379|title=Supermac: The Life of Harold Macmillan|page=379|first=D. R.|last=Thorpe|year=2011|publisher=Pimlico|isbn=978-1844135417|access-date=18 March 2023|archive-date=26 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326164815/https://books.google.com/books?id=oGLGF9g_IIEC&pg=PA379|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:No 10 door installation (16242584649).jpg|thumb|left|The replica of the door with the [[Union Flag]] decoration in 2015]]
The new foundation was made of steel-reinforced concrete with pilings sunk {{convert|6|to|18|ft|m}}.{{sfn|Seldon|1999|p=33}} The "new" Number 10 consisted of about 60% new materials; the remaining 40% was either restored or replicas of originals. Many rooms and sections of the new building were reconstructed exactly as they were in the old Number 10. These included: the garden floor, the door and entrance foyer, the stairway, the hallway to the Cabinet Room, the Cabinet Room, the garden and terrace, the Small and Large State Rooms and the three reception rooms. The staircase, however, was rebuilt and simplified. Steel was hidden inside the columns in the Pillared Drawing Room to support the floor above. The upper floors were modernised and the third floor extended over Numbers 11 and 12 to allow more living space. As many as 40 coats of paint were stripped from the elaborate cornices in the main rooms revealing details unseen for almost 200 years in some cases.{{sfn|Seldon|1999|p=33}}

When builders examined the exterior façade, they discovered that the black colour visible even in photographs from the mid-19th century was misleading; the bricks were actually yellow. The black appearance was the product of two centuries of pollution. To preserve the 'traditional' look of recent times, the newly cleaned yellow bricks were painted black to resemble their well-known appearance.{{sfn|Jones|1985|pp=154–155}}{{sfn|Minney|1963|pp=429–433}}

Although the reconstruction was generally considered an architectural triumph, Erith was disappointed. He complained openly during and after the project that the government had altered his design to save money. "I am heart broken by the result," he said. "The whole project has been a frightful waste of money because it just has not been done properly. The [[Ministry of Works (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Works]] has insisted on economy after economy. I am bitterly disappointed with what has happened."{{sfn|Seldon|1999|p=34}} Erith described the numbers on the front, intended to be based on historical models, as 'a mess' and 'completely wrong' to a fellow historian.<ref name="Number Ten (Mosley)">{{cite web|last1=Mosley|first1=James|author-link=James Mosley|title=Number Ten|url=http://typefoundry.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/number-ten.html|website=Typefoundry (blog)|access-date=14 July 2015|archive-date=15 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150715054830/http://typefoundry.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/number-ten.html|url-status=live}}</ref> 

Erith's concerns proved justified. Within a few years, dry rot was discovered, especially in the main rooms due to inadequate waterproofing and a broken water pipe. Extensive reconstruction again had to be undertaken in the late 1960s to resolve these problems.{{sfn|Seldon|1999|p=35}} Further extensive repairs and remodelling, commissioned by Margaret Thatcher, were completed in the 1980s under the direction of Erith's associate [[Quinlan Terry]].{{sfn|Seldon|1999|p=36}}

=== 1990–present ===
[[File:Downing Street setting a Christmas tree for 2021 Christmas (version 2).jpg|thumb|upright|Christmas tree outside Number 10 in 2021]]
The work done by Erith and Terry in the 1960s and 1980s represents the most extensive remodelling of Number 10 in recent times. Since 1990 when the Terry reconstruction was completed, repairing, redecorating, remodelling, and updating the house has been ongoing as needed. The [[Downing Street mortar attack|IRA mortar attack]] in February 1991 led to extensive work being done to repair the damage (mostly to the garden and exterior walls) and to improve security. In the summer of 1993 windows were rebuilt and in 1995 computer cables installed. In 1997, the building was remodelled to provide extra space for the prime minister's greatly increased staff.{{sfn|Seldon|1999|p=37}} 

To accommodate their large families, both [[Tony Blair]] and [[David Cameron]] chose to live in the private residence above Number 11 rather than the smaller one above Number 10. In 2010, the Camerons completely modernised the 50-year-old private kitchen in Number 11. In March 2020, [[Boris Johnson]] refurbished the residential apartment at Number 11. [[Downing Street refurbishment controversy|This became the subject of public controversy]], and an [[Electoral_Commission_(United_Kingdom)|Electoral Commission]] inquiry took place into the financing of the refurbishment.<ref>{{Cite news|date=28 April 2021|title=Electoral Commission to investigate Boris Johnson's Downing Street flat renovations|work=[[BBC News]]|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-56915307|access-date=29 April 2021|archive-date=29 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429030503/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-56915307|url-status=live}}</ref>

In May 2023, a car was driven into the Downing Street gates. [[Rishi Sunak]] was present inside the residences at the time. A man was arrested by police and the car crash was not terrorism-related.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-26/man-arrested-car-crash-downing-st-pm-office/102395402|title=Man arrested after crashing car into Downing Street gates in London|newspaper=ABC News|date=25 May 2023|via=www.abc.net.au|access-date=26 May 2023|archive-date=26 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230526085059/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-26/man-arrested-car-crash-downing-st-pm-office/102395402|url-status=live}}</ref>