Arthur Lee and his wife had bought the thousand-acre Buckinghamshire estate they had previously rented. In 1917 they gave Chequers, its contents, library, manuscripts, portraits, and Cromwell-related artefacts to the nation. The Chequers Estate Act enabled the property to serve in perpetuity as the official country residence and retreat of British prime ministers. Lee left the estate in January 1921, shortly before representing Britain at Washington. The episode shows how the delegation drew on figures embedded in the political institutions and historical culture of the British state.
Notable Point · 1:11:48-1:12:59
Arthur Lee turns Chequers into a prime ministerial retreat
The naval delegate's biography includes the gift that established Chequers as the permanent country residence of British prime ministers.