Despite its familiar appearance, Number 10 is not actually made from black bricks. In fact it was blackened by London’s smog. When the building was renovated in the 1960s, everyone had got so used to it that the yellow brickwork was coloured black for the sake of tradition.
The front door is simply the most famous in the world. Behind it lies a world of history and secrets, but the door can tell an interesting tale itself. For one thing, it has not always been black. During the early 20th century it was actually painted green. As an April Fool joke in 2006 one newspaper informed readers that it was to be replaced with a red version, but it looks likely to remain black for the foreseeable future.
The original Number 10 door is a centrepiece of the Churchill museum in London. It was replaced with two identical doors that are swapped over whenever they need a spot of maintenance.The famous lion’s head doorknocker and the brass letterbox date back to the 1770s. The letterbox is inscribed ‘First Lord of the Treasury’, the title held by every Prime Minister since Sir Robert Walpole.
The ‘0′ in the number 10 is painted at an angle as a nod to the original door, which had a badly-fixed zero, although some people think the ‘0′ was painted at angle to replicate the Roman style. The current Number 10 actually started life as Number 5, and was not renumbered until 1779.
- Move on to the Entrance Hall
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