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
Red Book of the Exchequer Prized by officials for its precedents, by antiquaries for its vast store of topographical and genealogical information, its well-thumbed pages have been scanned by twenty generations of students". The early part of the Red Book was compiled in about 1230 by Alexander de Swereford (d. 1246), a senior Exchequer clerk until about 1220 and a Baron of the Exchequer from 1234. However, entries continued to be added to it throughout the later Middle Ages, and even down to the 18th century. The Book contains nearly 300 separate records and texts, including "Charters, Statutes of the Realm, "Placita", or other public