Editing 10 Downing Street (section)

=== 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>