Downing Street, London
This street is at the heart of the British government machine, but it takes its name from a very unsavoury character from the 17th century
Downing Street is at the heart of Britain’s government buildings in London, but the man after whom it is named surely does not deserve to be commemorated in this way.
Downing Street
It is not a very long street, consisting of a cul-de-sac leading off London’s Whitehall between the Cabinet Office and the Foreign Office. However, it contains two particularly well-known addresses, these being Prime Minister’s official residence at Number 10 and that of the Chancellor of the Exchequer at Number 11. Behind their famous front doors lies a warren of corridors and offices in which the business of government is done, with the actual living accommodation only occupying two modest apartments on the upper floors.
You will be hard pressed to find numbers 1 to 8, which have long since disappeared, although there is a Number 9 which houses the office of the Government Chief Whip, and a Number 12 which is traditionally the Chief Whip’s official residence, although changes have been made in recent years that have re-assigned much of the building to other uses.