12 Downing Street

Downing Street looking west. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is on the left. The three adjoining houses 11–9 Downing St. are of dark brick, but 11 has the white-painted ground floor. 12 Downing Street is the later built red brick building perpendicular to the other three. The building on the right is the Barry wing of the Cabinet Office, which has its main frontage to Whitehall.

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.

Current use

The offices of the Prime Minister in 10 Downing Street have spread into the 12 Downing Street, connected by a corridor which runs through 11 Downing Street. Under the current government, the building is being used to house the Prime Minister's Press Office and Strategic Communications Unit. Although historically the house was used as the office of the Chief Whip, they are now located in 9 Downing Street. The upper floor of 12 Downing Street forms part of the Prime Minister's personal apartment. This stretches from number 12 across to number 10 as a joint apartment.

Historical use

The land which 12 Downing Street is built on was first sold by Charles Downing to James Steadman in 1723. The house was then sold in 1772 to William Maseres, who leased it three years later to Henry Hunt. This lease was bought out by Simon Frazer, who also acquired Maseres' stake in the property. After Frazer's death in 1783, it was sold by the executors to James Martin, who in turn sold it to the East India Company in 1803. It was purchased by the Crown in 1803, and was first used to house the Judge Advocate General of the Armed Forces. In 1827, it was taken over by the Colonial Office.

When Downing Street was remodelled in 1846, the houses at 10, 11 and 12 were joined together as a single overall building, with the Colonial Office continuing to reside there. They moved out in 1879 and since then the house at 12 Downing Street has been historically used as the office of the Chief Whip of the Government, and was also used for parliamentary dinners. In 1854, Herbert Gladstone was born at 12 Downing Street, the son of then Chancellor of the Exchequer, William Ewart Gladstone. Herbert later became Home Secretary and the first Governor-General of the Union of South Africa.

During the First World War, the premises was the headquarters of the Parliamentary Recruitment Committee. It was formed across parties, and managed by the three Chief Whips during the Second Asquith ministry of 1915-16. Following the breakup of the coalition government, the Liberal Party Chief Whip, John Gulland was blamed in some parts of the media for disconnecting the phone line running to 12 Downing Street. This was denied, and a statement was issued to say that "At no time was the telephone temporarily disconnected." The building was made Grade II listed on 14 January 1970.

The residency of the Chief Whips at 12 Downing Street ended in 2001, when Alastair Campbell was moved into the location from an office in 10 Downing Street by Prime Minister Tony Blair. The Whips were moved to 9 Downing Street, previously only known as the Privy Council building. During Gordon Brown's period as Prime Minister, he moved the Press Office back out of 12 Downing Street and instead used it as an open-plan office for himself and his key advisers. This was because there was an individual space large enough for Brown and his advisers, something which wasn't available in 10 Downing Street.