In the 19th century, the now the Greenhill-Russell family employed Henry Rhodes to make alterations to the house in the Gothic style. The Tudor panelling and windows were removed and battlements with pinnacles installed. Towards the end of the 19th century, the house passed through marriage to the Astley family and between 1892 and 1901, Bertram Astley set about restoring the house to its Elizabethan origins.
A gift to the Nation
In 1909, the house was taken on a long lease by Arthur Lee and his wife Ruth. The Lees bought the property in 1912 after the owner died, and began restoration. During World War I the house became a hospital and then a convalescent home for officers. After the war, Chequers reverted to a private home.
In the post-World War I era, a new breed of politician arose who, unlike their predecessors, did not necessarily own country estates where they could entertain foreign dignitaries, or temporarily retreat from the affairs of state.
After long discussions between the Lees and the then Prime Minister David Lloyd George, Chequers was given in trust to the nation as a country retreat for the serving Prime Minister under the Chequers Estate Act 1917. The gift included a library, historical papers and manuscripts and a collection of Cromwellian portraits and artefacts. From then on, Chequers was to be used as the official residence and retreat of successive British Prime Ministers in perpetuity, enabled by the Chequers Estate Act 1917. The Lees left the property in January 1921, and Lloyd George was the first Prime Minister to use the property.
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