12 Downing Street

The building at number 12 is a three-storey brick structure with a dormer attic and a symmetrical front that displays multiple windows under flat arches. The entrance door sits on the right side of the facade, and a short staircase leads up to the ground floor.

Sir George Downing commissioned the street from 1682 onward, and this house was built then as part of the first row. A renovation took place in 1723, and between 1827 and 1879 the Colonial Office used the rooms for its administration.

The interior corridors link to neighboring government buildings and allow protected movement between different offices. Visitors today see mainly the dark bricks and wrought iron railings on the staircase from outside.

The street is closed to the public, and you can only view the building from the barriers at the end of the road. Anyone hoping for a glimpse should come early in the morning when fewer tourists gather.

Herbert Gladstone was born here in 1854, when his father William lived on the street as Chancellor of the Exchequer. The younger Gladstone later became Home Secretary himself and first Governor-General of South Africa.