11 Downing Street

11 Downing Street
A white building with a black door, with the number eleven on the door
11 Downing Street is located in City of Westminster
11 Downing Street
Location in Westminster
General information
Architectural styleGeorgian
Town or cityCity of Westminster
London, SW1
CountryUnited Kingdom
Coordinates51°30′12″N 0°07′40″W / 51.5034°N 0.1278°W / 51.5034; -0.1278
Current tenantsRachel Reeves (Chancellor of the Exchequer)
Construction started1682; 342 years ago (1682)
Completed1684; 340 years ago (1684)
Design and construction
Architect(s)Christopher Wren
Website
http://www.number10.gov.uk/
Listed Building – Grade I
Reference no.1356989[1]

11 Downing Street in London, also known colloquially in the United Kingdom as Number 11, is the official residence of the Chancellor of the Exchequer (who traditionally also has the title of Second Lord of the Treasury). The residence, in Downing Street in London, was built alongside the official residence of the Prime Minister at Number 10 in 1682.

The first Chancellor to live there was Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice in 1806, but Number 11 did not become the Chancellor's official residence until 1828.[2]

From 1997 to 2022, prime ministers Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson[3] chose to reside for all or part of their term of office in the flat above Number 11, as its residential apartment is larger than at Number 10. Rishi Sunak broke with this by resuming residence in the smaller flat above Number 10.[4][5][6] Current Prime Minister Keir Starmer, his wife Victoria, and their two children are expected to live above Number 11.[7]

  1. ^ Historic England. "11 Downing Street (1356989)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  2. ^ "History of Number 11 Downing Street". UK Government. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  3. ^ "Boris Johnson and girlfriend take bigger Downing Street flat, leaving smaller one for Javid family". The Independent. 29 July 2019. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  4. ^ Wingate, Sophie (29 October 2022). "Removal vans in Downing Street as Rishi Sunak moves in". Evening Standard. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  5. ^ "Living in Downing Street: Rishi Sunak and family move back in". BBC News. 26 October 2022. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  6. ^ "Rishi has multi-million-pound pads, but he's the first PM since John Major to live in 10 Downing Street's flat". Tatler. 25 October 2022. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  7. ^ Mason, Chris; Capella, Hannah (12 July 2024). "Starmer thanks Hunt's children for 'sweet' notes". BBC News. Retrieved 12 July 2024.