Editing 10 Downing Street (section)

=== 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}}