Eagle Feathers #148 –Downing Street

By Bob (Monty) Doherty

Traditionally, the most famous resident of 10 Downing Street, London, was Sir Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister of England. While living there, he guided the people of Britain through the darkest hours of World War II.

When he was dining in its garden room on October 14, 1940, German bombs hit the building’s kitchen and nearly killed him. His quarters were then changed to a safer underground location that was more convenient to its famous War Room.

In 1932, while on an American speaking tour, he lectured at a packed Boston Symphony Hall and donated all the proceeds to the Elizabeth Peabody House which is now located in Somerville. The Peabody House presents The Winston Churchill Award to a person who has done outstanding work among children and immigrant families. On April 9, 1963, President John F. Kennedy and Congress bestowed honorary citizenship upon him.

Almost three hundred years earlier, history was being made across the Atlantic Ocean in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. America’s oldest college, Harvard, graduated its first class in 1642, two hundred years before Somerville was established. The second student out of only nine to be honored was George Downing.

He was the nephew of Governor John Winthrop, whom he lived with at Ten Hills and was the cousin of Governor John Winthrop, Jr. of Connecticut. After graduation, he became Harvard’s first hired tutor for three years before sailing to England and setting into motion an intriguing life.

He was a preacher, soldier, statesman, master spy, and ambassador. King Charles II awarded him land that he later developed into Downing Street. Politically, he was said to be ruthless and often switched his allegiance.

While a diplomat at The Hague, he worked against the Dutch and mediated for England’s interest in America. Downing was responsible for acquiring the 1664 possession of the then New Amsterdam that is today’s New York. Manhattan’s Downing Street honors him. He was the seed that grew “The Big Apple.”

They were two historic men … one saved London and one saved New York. They had a common interest, which was a street in London. Sir George Downing built, developed and received its name, and Sir Winston Churchill made the front door of 10 Downing Street one of the most iconic addresses in the world. New York City honors both of them with Manhattan’s Winston Churchill Square that is located at 10 Downing Street.