10 Downing Street – the most famous address in London, where every serving Prime Minister of the United Kingdom lives, who also serves as First Lord of the Treasury.
This house became the official residence of prime ministers in 1905, although it was built back in 1730. For the residence of the Lord Treasurer, three neighboring properties were combined, the largest of which was Number 10.
This house was first inhabited by the keepers of Whitehall Palace, then by members of the royal family, and only in the 17th century was it given over to the Treasury offices, after which statesmen began to live here.
The famous house has about 100 rooms, including living quarters, offices, and reception rooms. Here the Prime Minister holds official meetings with the heads of other states, and his office is located here as well.
You can get inside the residence only if you work there or are part of a diplomatic mission; visitors are not admitted on tours. But you can admire the black oak door, which is probably the most recognizable door in the world, as hundreds of meetings and handshakes at the highest level have been captured against its backdrop.
Also living at 10 Downing Street is the Chief Mouser of Great Britain – that is the title borne by the cats living in the Prime Minister's house. They are kept at the public expense and are held to the strictest standards: for example, in 2012 the cat Larry was disgracefully dismissed from the post because during his time in office he caught only one mouse.
