CHEQUERS

Evening Post, Volume CII, Issue 62, 10 September 1921, Page 9

CHEQUERS

AN HISTORIC HOME

RECENT VISIT OF THE

PREMIERS.

(FROM 008 OWN CORRESPONDENT.) LONDON, 19th July. "The House of Peace and Ancient ■ Memories ' , Was given to England as a thankoffering. . . . _ ' For her deliverance in the Great ■ War, 1914-1918, ' ( And as a place of rest and recreation . . For her Prime MinisteTs for ever." Those words were selected by Lord and Lady Lee, of Farehain, to explain their recent magnainiinovis gift to the nation —a. country house for the Prime Ministers of Great Britain for all time, whither they might repair at intervals to recuperate in the high and' pure air of tine Ohiltern Hills. As a result of new life thus instilled, the nation should benefit, as well as its chosen leaders. The lines above quotedl may be seen in the two stained glass panels in the porch-window at Chequers. Then, further to refer to the gift,in Lord Lee's'own words : "It is not possible to foresee or foretell from what classes or conditions of life the future wieldiers of power in this country will foe drawn. Some may be, as in the past, men of wealth and famous diescent; some may belong to the world of trade and bumiieas; others may spring from the ranks of the manual toilers. To none of these in the midst of thevr strenuous and responsible labours could the spirit and anodyne of Chequers do anything but good. The main features of the scheme are designed, not merely to make Chequers available as the official country residence of the Prim© Minister of the day, bufc to tempt him to visit it regulaxly, ajid to make it possible for him to live theTe, even though his income should be limited! to his salary." The trust came into operation in January last, when?' Mr. Lloyd! George took up his residence there, the1 first Prime Minister to occupy the house. WHERE HISTORY HAS BEEN . ' MADE. History—ancient, mediaeval, and very modern—has been made at Chequers; some, indleed, as recently as 9th July, for, on thie afternoon of that Sundiay, whila Mr. Lloyd waa entertaining a party of overseas Premiers andl other guests for the week-end, there arrived the American Am'bassaidor, brine--. ing with him President Hard'ing'S invitation to conference at Washington)—an invitatio© pregnant with possibilities for the future peace of the world, whose full effect time alone will reveal.October, 1917, is not very fair off either, and perhaps in that month, ab Chequers, the most momentous decision of the war Wias arrived at; Bound the fireplace in the lone gallery a conference took place; at which British and French Prime Ministers, General Foeh, ' Mr. Balfour, General Smuts, and others were present. Th« outcome" was that the principle of "unity of oommandl" was arrived at, and it found immediate expression in tie Military Council at Versailles. ' . "' ..-. Chequers is a pleasant country house —not too large—get in undulating .parkland of over 1200 acres, containing many beautiful old yew trees believed to have | been planted in mediaeval' times to. supply bows, when archery was all the fashion; the Chequers yews prqduced-the best bows as those who fought at Agincourt and Cressy well knew. ' One of the approaches is through a steep box-wood of remarkable size, ■>. and • growth. One of the very ancient relics in the grounds is the stump of an elm tree which is believed to have been planted by King Stephen, and concerning it there was a legend that the fall of a bough foreshadowed the death of the owner of Chequers. Of date years a new elm tree has seeded itself in the remains of {he old trunk. ANCIENT HISTORY. Within the confines of the property are traces of Roman occupation, and there are still remains of the ancient castle where Caracatus is reputed to have been born in the same year as Christ; and there are faint traces in the turf of a circular Druid maze. Other relics of old battles.from early,. British times to the Civil War include lines of trenches and "covered ways." , Chequers is mentioned in the Domesday-Book. The original house is believed to have been rebuilt about 1320, the owners then being the Hawtrey family, in whose possession it remained for nearly 350 years, and 'it was again rebuilt and rewindowed by William Hawtrey in the time of Queen Elizabeth,1 and part of this restoration which is still in good preservation is a pure specimen of Early Elizabethan architecture of the simple type. In the hall, on an arcaded oak screen are the Arms of the six principal, families connected with the;history of the House: De Chekers, Hawtrey, Croke, Russel, Frankland-Russel-Astley, and Lee of Fareham. Definite records show that in the reign of Henry 11. it was the residence of "Radulphus," who was Clerk of the Exchequer in 1173. His immediate descendants appear to have retained high office in the King's Exchequer—presumably as an hereditary right—and in consequence the family came to be known as "de Scaccario," which was later translated into the Norman French "de Chekers," and that is believed to have been the origin of the name of the estate. RELICS OF CROMWELL. Sir John Russel., the 4th baronet, married Frances Cromwell, youngest daughter of Oliver Cromwell, through whom the house became possessed of many interesting .Cromwellian portraits and relics, one of the most interesting perhaps being a mask of- Oliver Cromwell taken during his life; it was discovered not so very long since, hidden .behind some oak panelling., A portrait of very great interest is that of1 Oliver Cromwell at the age of two, and there are many portraits of members of his family. What are of particular interest are two swords belonging to the Protector, one,of them curved and supposed to have been carried by him. at Marston Moor. Hanging near by is the original of his celebrated letter, written from the battlefield; in which occurs the phrase, "God made them as stubble to our swords." There is another original letter, written by Oliver Cromwell, to his son Richard, and an interesting portrait shows Richard as a youth. Other relics of Cromwellian interest include his slippers, several, miniatures, Mrs. Cromwell's watch and bible." In 1836 the property came to Sir Robert liVankland, Bart., a grea*-grait-great-great-grandson of Oliver Cromwell. In the room wihich Mr. and Mrs. Mas' sey recently occupied there was a beautiful marquetry writing-table which had formerly belonged To Cromwell's daughter. THE PRISON ROOM. One access to the prison room is by a secret spiral staircase. In this small garret Lady Mary Grey (sislterof Lady Jane Grey) was imprisoned for two years by order of Queen Elizabeth. Lady Mary had married Thomas Keyes, Cie Ser,geant : Porter of the Court,. without the' Queen's consent or knowledge, and so the irate Elizabeth put her under" look Mid »«£y, William H*wti"«w •bnto{fi ■ummonad mm au bttm& at Chf&usr j,

to take charge of Lady Mary and to accept responsibility for he? safe keeping. ■ In, the house there are fine tapestries, oak panelling, many historic pictures, Italian, Dutch, and Sheraton furniture, and many interesting manuscripts. During the late war Chequers was used as a, .voluntary hospital, bsSng maintained by Lady Lee and her sister, Faith Moore. . The estate is in an historic locality, for close by is the cottage where Milton lived for part of his life (Ghalfont ; St. Giles), arid Jordans is another village of interest on account of its association with the P.enn family and the organisation of the1 Society of Friends. Perm's grave, as well as the graves of five members of his family, are in the -village. All these and many other objects of interest were seen by the visitors—who included Mr. and Mrs. Massey and Miss ■■Massey—who had .a very delightful weekend. :