David Lloyd George was the first PM to use the estate as his country residence, following the Lees’ departure in 1921. The "cell" where she slept from 1565 to 1567 is still kept in its original condition. A political disagreement between the Lees and Lloyd George soured the hand-over, which went ahead nevertheless. She had married without her family's consent and was banished from court by Queen Elizabeth I and kept confined to ensure that she had no descendants. In the great parlour where in less official days the lords of the manor took tea before the open log fire, twelve polished desks of the most efficiently modern design together with eight typewriters have now been installed. There is a reference to this[Clarification needed]. Boris Johnson in intensive care: how bad is it and who is running the country? Would cutting No. Jun 7, 2014 - Chequers, one of the houses where Lady Mary Grey was kept confined to ensure that she had no descendants. Lady Mary Grey, sister of Lady Jane Grey, was briefly kept under house arrest at Chequers during the reign of Elizabeth I, while a later owner was a grandson of Oliver Cromwell. Instead of taking up residence, they let the house to the Clutterbuck family, who loved the house so much that when they left in 1909 they had a near replica built in Bedfordshire at Putteridge Bury. All rights reserved. The property houses one of the largest collections of art and memorabilia pertaining to Oliver Cromwell in the country. He therefore used Ditchley in Oxfordshire until late 1942, by which time the approach road, clearly visible from the sky, had been camouflaged and other security measures had been put in place.[3][4]. Instant Opinion: Tories treated Manchester like the miners. His spokesman said that he is not “currently carrying out government work” and is “focusing on his recovery.”. Taken from The Ridgeway National Path at Combe Hill. Another explanation sometimes offered is that the house is named after the chequer trees (Sorbus torminalis) that grow in its grounds. Historically, Chequers has been a regular weekend retreat for prime ministers, although Gordon Brown broke with tradition by reserving his visits for summits and other official business. Hence, after lengthy discussions with then Prime Minister David Lloyd George, Chequers was given to the nation as a country retreat for the serving Prime Minister by the Chequers Estate Act 1917. US election 2020 polls: who is going to win - Donald Trump or Joe Biden? They commenced restoration; the Gothic "improvements" were removed and the Tudor style house seen today re-emerged from the scaffolding. A reception room in the house bears his name today. Nearby Coombe Hill was part of the estate until the 1920s when it was given to the National Trust. Chequers, or Chequers Court, is a country house near Ellesborough, to the south of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, at the foot of the Chiltern Hills. Carol Thatcher has written of her mother’s strong attachment to the house, which served as the family home for the 11 years that Margaret Thatcher was in power. The prime minister was discharged from hospital on Sunday after testing negative for the virus, and has since been reunited with his pregnant fiancée Carrie Symonds at the Buckinghamshire mansion. A building has been recorded on the site since the 12th century, but it was after a project of extensive enlargement and remodelling in 1565 that the modern Chequers took shape. –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––For a round-up of the most important stories from around the world - and a concise, refreshing and balanced take on the week’s news agenda - try The Week magazine. The Guardian reports that a portrait of Lady Mary Grey is part of the Portraits from Chequers: Kings, Queens and Revolutionaries exhibition to be held at Compton Verney. With that last sentiment everyone at Chequers would certainly agree. In the 19th century, the Russells (by now the Greenhill-Russell family) employed William Atkinson to make modern alterations to the house in the Gothic style. It was not clear enough, he complained so, bringing out his own oils, he had the painting taken down and he himself touched up the mouse. One Rubens depicts the fable of the mouse and the lion caught in a net. It is reported – on unimpeachable authority that Sir Winston, when Prime Minister, was dissatisfied with the Rubens mouse. During the subsequent war that the pact had failed to prevent, Winston Churchill regularly broadcast from Chequers. Fortunately for Mrs Whitman the secret passage will lead not to a prison but to a convenient – by Elizabethan standards – bedroom. During World War I the house became a hospital and then a convalescent home for officers. The Week™ is a registered trade mark. Following the end of hostilities and the reinstatement of Chequers as a home (now furnished with many 16th-century antiques and tapestries and the Cromwellian antiquities), the childless Lees formed a plan. Amid all the extraordinary preparations for receiving a President of the United States in an Elizabethan mansion, not the least extraordinary was the special visit of journalists yesterday. In 1912 following the death of the last of the house's ancestral owners (Henry Delavel Astley), Ruth Lee and her sister purchased the property and later gave it to Arthur Lee. Strictly speaking he had broken the terms of the trust, he said, in letting journalists in at all, but Mr Eisenhower’s visit was something quite extraordinary. 1, containing the lives of R. Bertie and his son Peregrine, lord Willoughby", http://books.google.com/?id=x1MBAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover&pg=GBS.PA40, History Lives at Ditchley and Bletchley – The Churchill Centre, http://books.google.ca/books?id=OggOMSdinLsC&pg=PA31&lpg=PA31&dq=%22sir+francis+wolley%22&source=bl&ots=C5Cf6Vox_A&sig=pa9QgBxZGd26SxqEg2BmBFIFCXM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=DuIZUfScIISLjAKehoG4Cg&ved=0CE4Q6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=%22sir%20francis%20wolley%22&f=false, https://military.wikia.org/wiki/Chequers?oldid=4968123. It was also at Chequers, in March 1970, that Labour prime minister Harold Wilson’s inner cabinet decided to call an early general election. Soon after its construction, Hawtrey acted as custodian at Chequers for Lady Mary Grey, younger sister of Lady Jane Grey … This article is about the British Prime Minister's residence. All rights reserved. In the alcove at the far end overlooking the croquet lawn the President’s personal secretary, Mrs Whitman has her own section of White House territory. Start your trial subscription today –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––, Located only 41 miles from Downing Street, Chequers is a convenient escape from London, as well as a glamorous setting to welcome foreign dignitaries. The house passed through generations of the De Scaccario family (spelt in many different forms) until it seems to have passed into the D'Awtrey family, whose name was eventually anglicised to Hawtrey. 10’s power have boosted UK Covid response? Previous guests have included everyone from Richard Nixon to Claudia Schiffer. © 2020 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. The efforts of millions of people across this country to stay home are worth it. In 1715, the then owner of the house married John Russell, a grandson of Oliver Cromwell. Through descent in the female line and marriages, the house passed through several families: the Wooleys, the Crokes and the Thurbanes. The residence is located near Ellesborough, to the south of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, England, at the foot of the Chiltern Hills. In a speech posted to social media following his release, the prime minister said it “could have gone either way” and thanked the health workers who had helped him beat the virus. These men did not have the country palaces of previous prime ministers to entertain foreign dignitaries, or a tranquil place to relax from the affairs of state. For the board games, see, Back view of Chequers during the Blair Ministry in 2006, People of the American Civil War by state, Articles needing clarification from October 2015, Articles incorporating text from Wikipedia, Official residences in the United Kingdom, Buildings of the Government of the United Kingdom, Grade I listed buildings in Buckinghamshire, "Five generations of a loyal house. Thomas Gresham, the royal financier, also acted as jailer to Lady Mary Grey, who died childless. Last modified on Wed 23 Sep 2020 10.26 EDT. Over the years, the house has been connected to many important events in English history. It also houses many other national antiques and books held in the famous 'long room', including a diary of Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson. The lavender comes from half a dozen or so old-fashioned lavender bowls set about the room among the telephones – a white telephone marked “London White House” for top priority and a green one with the usual Chequers number on it for less important calls. By 1917, changing social dynamics meant the prime minister could no longer be assumed to have his or her own country estate to entertain guests, so the then owners of Chequers, Sir Arthur Lee and his wife Ruth, proposed to sign the estate over to the government for the use of the nation’s leader. It will be in the library, the long gallery, which runs along most of the north side of the house, where the principal talks between the President and the Prime Minister will take place. While previous Prime Ministers had always belonged to the landed classes, the post-World War I era was bringing in a new breed of politician. Boris Johnson is recovering from the lingering effects of his coronavirus infection in his official country residence, Chequers. Elizabeth I kept Mary Grey, a woman suffering from dwarfism imprisoned in the Tower and then confined under house arrest for 13 years until her death in 1578, aged 33.

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