12 Downing Street is one of the buildings situated on Downing Street in the City of Westminster in London, England. It has been traditionally used as the office of the Chief Whip although the upper floor forms part of the residential apartment for the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. It has been owned and used by the Crown since 1803, first housing the Judge Advocate General of the Armed Forces and then the Colonial Office, before the office of the Chief Whip moved into the premises in 1879 until 2001. It is a Grade II listed building.
12 Downing Street in 2009
Downing Street looking west. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is on the left. The three adjoining houses 9–11 Downing St. are of dark brick, 11 having a white stucco ground floor. 12 Downing Street is the later-built red-brick building projecting forward from the line of the other three. The building on the near right is the Barry wing of the Cabinet Office, which has its main frontage on Whitehall.
Downing Street is a street in Westminster in London that houses the official residences and offices of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Situated off Whitehall, it is 200 metres (660 ft) long, and a few minutes' walk from the Houses of Parliament. Downing Street was built in the 1680s by Sir George Downing.
Downing Street seen from Whitehall, 2013
Sir George Downing, 1st Baronet
View of the old Foreign Office and other buildings on Downing Street in an 1827 watercolour by John Chessell Buckler
Downing Street looking west. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is on the left, the red house is No. 12, the dark houses are No. 11 and No. 10 (nearer, and partially obscured), and the building on the right is the Barry wing of the Cabinet Office, which has its main frontage to Whitehall.
