Downing Street Guard Chairs

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Downing Street Guard Chairs with heated seats

The Downing Street Guard Chairs are two antique chairs belonging to the two guards who  guarded the Prime Minister's residence at 10 Downing Street in central London .

history

The specialty of the Street Guard Chairs is that the chairs made by Thomas Chippendale in the middle of the 18th century had charcoal-powered seat heating under the seats in a drawer . The hood-shaped backrest also protected the guards from rain and, due to its shape, had the side effect that noises from the surroundings were also amplified.

The two chairs are still there to this day. One of them stands as a porter chair in the entrance of the building at 10 Downing Street, the other chair is owned by a private collector. In the picture, on the right side of the armrest, you can see the chafe marks of the pistols that the guards were carrying.

swell