A brief history of Downing Street

Starting Point. Discuss the questions below.

• What do you know about 10 Downing Street?
• Why do you think some historical buildings are kept even when they are not very practical?
• If you were the Prime Minister, what features would you want in your official residence?

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https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/who-lives-downing-street-prime-minister-number-10-b1023157.html

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Focus on Vocabulary. Match the words with the correct meaning.

Focus on Comprehension. Answer the questions below about the video.

Focus on Listening. Watch the video. Read the transcript below if necessary.

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00:00:00 60 years ago the tory prime minister was out of downing street howard macmillan made way for the builders to move in and stop the most famous address in politics from falling down i’ve come to downstream to meet academic and former historian residents jack brown to find out about the famous black door and the building behind him welcome to downing street so jack where we are right now looks very nice manicured grass nice plants and all that but this used to be basically a swamp it did the thames was much more sort of

00:00:29 untamed and wild it’s not that far away from the thames actually is it and until the thames was tamed this was all very marshy ground and so who was it who decided that on this bit of boggy ground they were going to build this building this guy called sir george downing he eventually acquired this land to put up some houses very cheaply for no one in particular in 1732 goes back to the ownership of the crown and then the king gives it to the man who we widely uh regard as the first prime minister sir robert walpole and

00:00:58 that’s when the works begin to knock it together to the separate house at the back and make it into the down street we know today so how long did it take before this became a permanent residence for the prime minister walpole denied that he was prime minister right this is why it says first lord of the treasury on the front door because that was an official title prime minister’s had better properties elsewhere this wasn’t the most salubrious area actually it’s a little bit a little bit dodgy you had a

00:01:21 few sort of ruffles and gin palaces and places like that it’s not until after balfour establishes the precedent the beginning of the 20th century prime ministers consistently live here by the middle of the 20th century the whole place is almost falling down howard macmillan becomes prime minister in 1957 it becomes unavoidable basically the idea that you’re going to have to move out for a period and because macmillan was like i want to stay here as long as possible they could only kind of lift up you know a couple of corners

00:01:47 and go it looks bad but it’s not until the work start that they actually are able to take the place apart and realise the extent of insect damage of dry rot of apparently some walls kind of basically being nothing but plaster and you’re right there’s also strikes this is this is post-war britain after all it’s a strike over the issue of tea breaks which is even more british talk me through if we’re looking at the building from the outside why is it black well you can see a couple of different shades and number 12 is is not

00:02:15 black it’s in red brick the idea here is that it’s deliberately painted black because when the works were done they discovered that the bricks that they thought were black were actually just covered in soot so it’s painted kind of in an homage to how dirty and disgusting it used to be there is no number nine there’s number 11 as well but in the middle there’s a mystery door there’s a door between tennis or 10 and a half what’s going on there the chancellor is formally housed at number 11 uh but

00:02:41 they’ve swapped the flats over ever since tony blair and gordon brown’s time because early on in tony blair’s premiership he had a larger family gordon brown wasn’t using it that much and didn’t at that point it’s a bit more academic now because actually inside behind that door that mystery door in the middle it’s basically just corridors linking the two and it said that you know you have to have exceptionally bad relationship between the chancellor and prime minister for the internal door between

00:03:04 the two flats to be closed what’s in number 12 at one point it’s been the chief whips office gordon brown’s time it was used as his office um he had like an open plan sort of office arrangement there was talk of boyce johnson moving out going down to the cabinet office but prime ministers are always very reluctant to give up the keys to that famous door i mean it’s not a practical place for the prime minister it’s not a practical place for their advisors but it’s got that history it’s got incredible history the cabinet room you

00:03:31 know the decisions have been taken around that table they don’t want to leave and i can understand why you know it’s kind of iconic it’s humble it’s special it’s very british there’s something quite magical about it in a way [Music] you

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Group Task.

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Scenario:
Imagine the UK government is considering either renovating or relocating 10 Downing Street. You will work in pairs, with one student acting as a Government Official and the other as a Historic Preservation Expert. Your task is to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of both options and come to a decision.

Task Instructions:

1. Step 1 (2 minutes individual brainstorming):

   • Government Officials: Prepare reasons why moving the Prime Minister’s residence would be a good idea (e.g., modern facilities, more space, security).
   • Historic Preservation Experts: Prepare arguments for why 10 Downing Street should be preserved and renovated instead (e.g., historical importance, tradition, symbolism).

2. Step 2 (10 minutes discussion in pairs):

   • Government Official: Present your reasons for moving.
   • Historic Preservation Expert: Present your reasons for preserving the building.
   • Discuss potential compromises (e.g., partial renovation, using it only for official events).

3. Step 3 (Group Reporting):

   • Join with another pair and share your conclusions.
   • As a group, decide on a final recommendation to present to the class.

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Focus on Speaking. 

If you had the power to decide, would you keep 10 Downing Street as the Prime Minister’s residence or move it somewhere else? Why?

Dose your country’s prime minister have a similar official residence?