Chancellor of the Exchequer Lords, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown respectively, swapped apartments, as the Chancellor's apartment in No. 11 was bigger and thus better suited to the needs of Blair (who had children living with him, including one born during his tenure) than Brown who was at that stage unmarried. Dorneywood is the summer residence that is traditionally made available to the chancellor, though it is the prime minister who ultimately decides who may use it. Gordon Brown, on becoming chancellor in 1997, refused to use it and the house, which is set in of parkland, was allocated to Deputy Prime Minister John
Stop of the Exchequer to be serviced at a rate of 8% per annum, and there was also a service charge of £4000 per annum for the management of the loan. The founding of the Bank of England put an end to defaults such as the Great Stop of the Exchequer. From now on, the British Government would never fail to repay its creditors. Kenyon argues that the Stop was a failure simply because it had never been tried in England before. The French and Spanish Governments periodically repudiated their debts without undue difficulty; but from the time of Elizabeth I the English Crown