The 10 Downing Street Guard Chairs are two

antique An antique ( la, antiquus; 'old', 'ancient') is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely ...

chairs. In the early 19th century, 10 Downing Street was guarded by two men who sat outside the building in

leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and ho ...

chairs made by

Thomas Chippendale Thomas Chippendale (1718–1779) was a cabinet-maker in London, designing furniture in the mid-Georgian, English Rococo, and Neoclassical styles. In 1754 he published a book of his designs in a trade catalogue titled ''The Gentleman and Cab ...

. There was a drawer underneath the chair which was filled with hot

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as stratum, rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen ...

s to keep the guards warm whilst on duty. The chairs were

hood chair A hood chair or porter's chair was a type of chair used originally in medieval England and later France. Usually made of wood, but sometimes formed in a high-grade leather or red velvet, it was placed by the front door of an estate or home for u ...

s, made with a circular back and hood, both to shield the guards from bad weather and to improve the surrounding acoustics, thereby allowing the guard to hear better from a wider angle.

Current state

The chairs still exist. One of them (also known as the Hall Porter's Chair) stands in the entrance to 10 Downing Street; the other is owned by a private collector of furniture. The fraying of the inner arm rests evident in the accompanying picture is the result of the guards' pistols repeatedly rubbing against the fabric during their watch.

References

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External links

Official 3D Tour of 10 Downing Street
Chairs Individual pieces of furniture English furniture