Chequers is a sixteenth-century manor house in Buckinghamshire. In 1909, the politician Arthur Lee and his wife Ruth - an American heiress - rented the house and undertook restoration work. Three years later, Ruth Lee and her sister purchased it as a gift for Arthur Lee. It served as a convalescent home during the First World War. In 1921, Lee gave it to the nation as the country retreat of prime ministers.

Journal references: 1

• 9 Feb 1918