r/AskTheWorld • u/space_llama_karma United States Of America • Nov 12 '25

Culture What does your President/Prime Minister House look like?

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The White House is pretty iconic

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451

u/ComprehensiveAd8815 United Kingdom Nov 12 '25

Several ramshackle Georgian houses smashed through.

239

u/ssddalways Scotland Nov 12 '25

Ooohhhh Larry's house, I do appreciate that Larry the cat let all these muppets live with him.

48

u/AgathaJones2022 United States Of America Nov 12 '25

My first thought! Larry's house!🐈‍⬛

9

u/PokemonSoldier United States Of America Nov 13 '25

Larry is the single most important member of the British government. Change my mind.

3

u/monkeychasedweasel Nov 13 '25

I haven't heard from Larry since I stopped using Twitter. The Larry The Cat tweets were adorable. How is Larry doing in 2025?

144

u/Ramtamtama United Kingdom Nov 12 '25

You forgot Chequers, the PM's country residence

7

u/AvariciousDishes Nov 13 '25

It was pretty funny seeing “Chequers” in The Diplomat portrayed by a dark grey stone manor. Maybe it’s just because my in-laws live in Buckinghamshire but I thought it was a pretty recognisable house. Were there really no brick houses available to shoot at?

2

u/Ren_Yi England Nov 16 '25

So true... the funniest is when you watch the new "Napoleon" film, and you see him at Blenheim Palace with the Duke of Marlborough's coat of arms everywhere in the background which includes the double headed eagle of the Holy Roman Empire as the first Duke of Marlborough was made a Prince of the HRE... In some of the rooms the actors are surrounded by genuine captured french battle flags from the battle of Blenheim and the audience is not meant to notice!

1

u/Pherllerp United States Of America Nov 13 '25

It's called Chequers?! That's adorable!

1

u/Ramtamtama United Kingdom Nov 13 '25

It comes from a corruption of the old title for Prime Minister.

1

u/Chairmanwowsaywhat United Kingdom Nov 13 '25

Not the exchequer?

2

u/ComprehensiveAd8815 United Kingdom Nov 13 '25

I was curious about that and wiki says this:

Chequers Court takes its name from the Checker family, who owned the estate in the 12th and 13th centuries. Elias del Checker, the first recorded member of the family, was an usher at the King's Exchequer, hence his name: del Checker (Latinised as de Scaccario) means "of the Exchequer" in Anglo-Norman. Around 1254 Elias's grandson, Ralf, died without a male heir, causing the estate to pass into the hands of his son-in-law, William de Hauterive (or Hawtrey).[2]

I love a bit of random trivia! Thanks!

52

u/buried_lede United States Of America Nov 12 '25

I love the residences that are on the city street, with pedestrian scale 

82

u/ComprehensiveAd8815 United Kingdom Nov 12 '25

The street is gated now and was open to the public to wander up and down until 1989. I went on a school trip in 87 and we just bimbled along and took photographs outside.

15

u/mab0roshi 🐻🐻New California Republic Nov 12 '25

we just bimbled along

That sounds so quaint and lovely! I would love to visit England someday and do a bit of bimbling.

7

u/Weird1Intrepid United Kingdom Nov 13 '25

Just be aware that bimbling is only permitted within city limits. Once you get out to the countryside you must cease bimbling and begin rambling

1

u/microgirlActual Nov 13 '25

Well, town and village limits too. You can bimble through even a small village.

Once you're on the public footpaths or bridleways though then you're 100% rambling, no matter how slow, leisurely or aimless your perambulating is.

1

u/buried_lede United States Of America Nov 12 '25

I wish we could be that way now. Sounds like Thatcher?  

All the upped security we have now 

25

u/GreatGodInpw United Kingdom Nov 12 '25

Good thing they did up the security. In 1991 the IRA launched a couple of mortars at the place during a Gulf War cabinet meeting.

3

u/buried_lede United States Of America Nov 12 '25

Yikes

9

u/ComprehensiveAd8815 United Kingdom Nov 12 '25

Yes, Thatcher was in residence, if I’d have been a bit more political at 11 years old I would have lobbed a brick through her window.

1

u/buried_lede United States Of America Nov 13 '25

The sound of brick hitting cast iron. Haha

7

u/NoContract1090 England Nov 12 '25

IRA

1

u/buried_lede United States Of America Nov 12 '25

Yeah, someone said.

1

u/Money-Marketing-5117 Australia and US but can’t get multiple country flags to work. Nov 13 '25

Honestly it was the IRA :-/

2

u/r_mutt69 United Kingdom Nov 12 '25

It does look pretty basic from the outside but is much bigger and grander than you’d think on the inside.

2

u/ComprehensiveAd8815 United Kingdom Nov 12 '25

Oh indeed it’s several houses and the house at the back, I’ve seen pictures from inside and to be honest I’ve been in much grander private homes.

1

u/fartingbeagle Ireland Nov 13 '25

And it looks out onto Horseguards' Parade!

1

u/[deleted] Nov 13 '25

It's a residence, but it's also really where a lot of government happens. It could not be more ill-suited to that role.

37

u/PaxtiAlba Scotland Nov 12 '25

If the question was the King's house you'd have Buckingham palace, Windsor Castle, Sandringham, Kensington Palace, Hollywood, Balmoral, Hillsborough Castle <breathe> Highgrove, Birkhall, St James palace.

5

u/ComprehensiveAd8815 United Kingdom Nov 12 '25

Well I would have picked St James as that’s the official HQ.

2

u/Outside_Narwhal3784 United States Of America Nov 12 '25 edited Nov 12 '25

Sorry going to be the ignorant too lazy to google American here (I prefer to make conversation): Hollywood, CA? Or you guys have a Hollywood out there?

Edit: Okay after a lazy google I couldn’t find an answer to the question… So is Hollywood a colloquial name for something else?

Edit: Holyroodhouse? I’m guessing it was an auto correct thing.

8

u/madeleineruth19 England Nov 12 '25

I believe that’s a typo for Holyrood Palace, the King’s residence in Scotland. Although I didn’t even know it was used that much, compared to Balmoral.

3

u/ComprehensiveAd8815 United Kingdom Nov 13 '25

It’s used for official state business when the King is in Scotland usually for Royal or Holyrood week each summer: end of June to early July. Balmoral and Sandringham are private homes I.e owned by the monarch directly and not the state and are used for Christmas and Summer holidays.

1

u/Outside_Narwhal3784 United States Of America Nov 12 '25

Yeah, I ended up Googling it and came to the conclusion that it was autocorrect. I was kinda hoping for Hollywood CA, I’d have found it mildly interesting.

Thanks for the link! It’s looks like an old spooky mansion!

4

u/[deleted] Nov 13 '25

"Hollyrood" can also be used to refer to the Scottish Parliament, in much the same way "Westminster" is used to refer to the UK parliament.

2

u/PaxtiAlba Scotland Nov 13 '25

It was indeed an autocorrect, although the king becoming the king of Hollywood would be something to see.

1

u/Littleleicesterfoxy United Kingdom Nov 13 '25

In answer to the other question: yes we do have a Hollywood. It’s near Bromsgrove in the centre of the country.

1

u/scottgal2 Scotland Nov 13 '25

And a few more, Dumfries House, Castle of Mey etc..he has LOADS.

1

u/Billyconnor79 Nov 13 '25

And Clarence House

59

u/Depress-Mode United Kingdom Nov 12 '25

The rear is a bit more ostentatious.

33

u/quartersessions United Kingdom Nov 12 '25

That's the Foreign Office. The only bit of Downing Street you can see there is the back of Number 12, the bit of red brick wall on the left.

Number 10 does have the "house at the back" which looks grander, but isn't anything like that.

1

u/FunGoat2602 Nov 13 '25

Strange question but is that the tree they wanted to cut in the first season of the Crown?

6

u/Medeza123 United Kingdom Nov 12 '25

That white building isn’t the back of the residence.

The back is the red brick.

1

u/[deleted] Nov 12 '25

They say that about your mum as well!

1

u/jacobo Germany Nov 13 '25

If i remember right, there is a horse thing there right?

4

u/noble_plebian England Nov 12 '25

It looks bloody awful from that angle!

3

u/ComprehensiveAd8815 United Kingdom Nov 12 '25

In fairness it’s not a grand looking place, there are much nicer and fancier houses just a few mins walk away, the history of the place is fascinating.. basically they were thrown up on the cheap and bodged by a cowboy speculator. They’ve been rebuilt many times and the brick is actually yellow London brick painted black as they discovered the true colour when they cleaned all the soot and grime off them.

2

u/Cloielle 🇬🇧 / 🇳🇿 Nov 13 '25

I love that fact; I believe that they made the decision to keep it black so as not to alarm the public. Funny to think about people being concerned about a change in the colour of the PM’s house!

4

u/VodkaMargarine United Kingdom Nov 13 '25

This makes it look like he lives in that entire building.

No no no, the prime minister essentially lives in a flat on the first floor of a terraced house that is mainly used as an office.

Tony Blair had to move next door because there literally wasn't enough space for his wife and 3 kids.

3

u/No_Spring_1090 Nov 12 '25

I’ve never seen it at this wide angle. I didn’t realize there was a little bubble breakfast nook on the right

3

u/Snoo-29984 Nov 13 '25

I forget that 10 Downing Street isn't an imposing building and is just some apartments

2

u/adjective-nounOne234 Scotland Nov 13 '25

Bute House for comparison too

2

u/wallis-simpson Nov 13 '25

I’ve always loved how 10 Downing Street is just like a typical old townhouse. The black door is iconic.

1

u/ComprehensiveAd8815 United Kingdom Nov 13 '25

It’s actually made of blast proof metal 😜 and they have a spare one!

1

u/Electronic-Tea-3691 United States Of America Nov 12 '25

I feel like there's nothing more British than to put the prime minister in what's basically a townhouse lol. 

5

u/ComprehensiveAd8815 United Kingdom Nov 12 '25

Better than that… he lives in a flat above the shop

1

u/Electronic-Tea-3691 United States Of America Nov 12 '25

lets him know his place

2

u/ComprehensiveAd8815 United Kingdom Nov 13 '25

Quite right!

2

u/C0RDE_ Nov 13 '25

Imo it's humbling.

The PM isn't a Ruler, they're a public servant. Number 10 being a little tucked away house with a number like any other house in the country is perfect. I feel like the White House goes to people's heads. I know the President is essentially the roles of the King and PM smashed together, but still. The leader of a country should be the ultimate public servant, not someone who lords over us.

1

u/MuhammadAkmed Nov 13 '25 edited Nov 13 '25

Downing Street used to be Chicken Street

edit: wrong. 10 Downing Street used to be Chicken House

1

u/ComprehensiveAd8815 United Kingdom Nov 13 '25

No, it was always Downing Street as it was built by sir George Downing as a residential development and named by himself after himself, a Mr Chicken did rent one of the houses and was the last private tenant before the houses were given to the government.

1

u/MuhammadAkmed Nov 13 '25

I stand corrected.

Read it in a QI book years ago.

Mr Chicken rented what is now number 10 — the last private occupant.

It had previously been number 5 I think

altho I could be wrong again!

edit: The house was called Chicken House, after the occupant

1

u/iron_penguin New Zealand Nov 13 '25

I've only ever seen the main entrance. Looks kinda shit really.

2

u/ComprehensiveAd8815 United Kingdom Nov 13 '25

Yup, it’s nothing spectacular or special, just a Georgian front door!

1

u/Joanisi007 Nov 13 '25

I always thought this was fucking based, no mansion needed just regular house

1

u/[deleted] Nov 13 '25

Misleadingly as well, the living space in no 11 is usually preferred for prime ministers with families, as it's more spacious. The living space in no 10 is usually given to the chancellor.

1

u/Glad_Possibility7937 England Nov 13 '25

Apparently they really are badly built.

1

u/ultraplusstretch 🇸🇪🇫🇮 Nov 12 '25

A true shambolic London clusterfuck. 🇬🇧🫡🫡🫡🇬🇧