Sir John Soane
One of the most revered architects Britain has ever produced, Sir John Soane (1753-1837) was the perfect choice to design what is arguably Number 11’s finest room, the dining room which now bears his name.
Soane’s reputation in his own lifetime was based largely on his designs for grand country houses, where he brought together the popular taste for classical design with a more modern feel for light and space. Shallow domes, clean ornamentation and ingenious lighting effects, often from above, characterised his work. His greatest work was on a much larger scale - the design of the Bank of England. It was this formidable reputation as designer of some of Britain’s grandest homes and also the heart of its financial community which made Soane the obvious choice to design the dining room of 11 Downing Street in 1825.
Soane was at the same time also responsible for the State Dining Room of 10 Downing Street, and although Number 11’s is much smaller, it is no less impressive for that. The lightwells which allow daylight to fall on the long panelled walls of the dining room are a characteristically imaginative solution by Soane to the problem of getting natural light into a deep room.
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11 Downing Street Index