Chequers ( ), or Chequers Court, is the

country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. A 16th-century manor house in origin, it is located near the village of Ellesborough, halfway between

Princes Risborough Princes Risborough () is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England, about south of Aylesbury and north west of High Wycombe. It lies at the foot of the Chiltern Hills, at the north end of a gap or pass through the Chilterns, the south end ...

and Wendover in

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

, United Kingdom, at the foot of the

Chiltern Hills The Chiltern Hills is a chalk escarpment in England. The area, northwest of London, covers stretching from Goring-on-Thames in the southwest to Hitchin in the northeast - across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, and Bedfordshire. ...

. It is about north-west of

central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local government. Its characteris ...

. Coombe Hill, once part of the estate, is located northeast. Chequers has been the country home of the serving Prime Minister since 1921 after the estate was given to the nation by Sir Arthur Lee by a Deed of Settlement, given full effect in the Chequers Estate Act 1917. The house is listed Grade I on the National Heritage List for England.

Origin of the name

The name "Chequers" may derive from an early owner of the manor of Ellesborough in the 12th century, Elias

Ostiarius An ostiarius, a Latin word sometimes anglicized as ostiary but often literally translated as porter or doorman, originally was a servant or guard posted at the entrance of a building. See also gatekeeper. In the Roman Catholic Church, this "por ...

(or de Scaccario). The name "Ostiarius" meant an usher of the Court of the Exchequer and ''scacchiera'' means a chessboard in Italian. Elias Ostiarius's coat of arms included the

chequer board A checkerboard (American English) or chequerboard (British English; see spelling differences) is a board of checkered pattern on which checkers (also known as English draughts) is played. Most commonly, it consists of 64 squares (8×8) of altern ...

of the Exchequer, so the estate may be named after his arms and position at court. The house passed through generations of the Scaccario family (spelt many different ways) until it passed into the D'Awtrey family, whose name was eventually anglicised to Hawtrey. Alternatively, the house could have been named after the

chequer tree ''Sorbus torminalis'', with common names wild service tree, chequers, and checker tree, is a species of tree in the mountain ash or rowan genus (''Sorbus'') of the rose family ( Rosaceae), that is native to Europe, parts of northern Africa and ...

s (''Sorbus torminalis'') that grow in its grounds. There is a reference to this in the book ''Elizabeth: Apprenticeship'' by David Starkey, which describes the early life of Elizabeth I.

History

William Hawtrey built the current mansion around 1565, and it may have involved the reconstruction of an earlier building. A reception room in the house bears his name today. Soon after its construction, Hawtrey acted as a custodian at Chequers for Lady Mary Grey, younger sister of

Lady Jane Grey Lady Jane Grey ( 1537 – 12 February 1554), later known as Lady Jane Dudley (after her marriage) and as the "Nine Days' Queen", was an English noblewoman who claimed the throne of England and Ireland from 10 July until 19 July 1553. Jane was ...

and great-granddaughter of

King Henry VII Henry VII (28 January 1457 – 21 April 1509) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizure of the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death in 1509. He was the first monarch of the House of Tudor. Henry's mother, Margaret Beaufo ...

. Lady Mary had married without the monarch's consent and was banished from court by Queen Elizabeth I and kept confined as punishment. Lady Mary remained at Chequers for two years. The room where she slept from 1565 to 1567 remains in its original condition. Through descent in the female line and marriages, the house passed through several families: the Wooleys, the Crokes and the Thurbanes. In 1715, the then owner of the house married John Russell, a grandson of Oliver Cromwell. The house is known for this connection to the Cromwells, and still contains a large collection of Cromwell memorabilia. In the 19th century, the Russells (by now the Greenhill-Russell family) employed Henry Rhodes to make alterations to the house in the

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

style. The Tudor panelling and windows were ripped out and battlements with pinnacles installed. Towards the end of the 19th century, the house passed through marriage to the Astley family. In 1892–1901, Bertram Astley restored the house to its Elizabethan origins, with advice from Sir Reginald Blomfield. The restoration and design work was completed by John Birch, architect.

20th century

In 1909, the house was taken on a long lease by Arthur Lee and his wife Ruth (an American heiress). Lee immediately re-engaged Blomfield to undertake a restoration of the interior. At the same time,

Henry Avray Tipping Henry Avray Tipping (22 August 1855 – 16 November 1933) was a French-born British writer on country houses and gardens, a garden designer, and Architectural Editor of '' Country Life'' magazine for 17 years. Early life Tipping was born in the ...

undertook the design of several walled gardens from 1911 to 1912. In 1912, after the death of the last of the house's ancestral owners Henry Delavel Astley, Ruth Lee and her sister purchased the property and later gave it to Arthur Lee. During the First World War, the house became a hospital and then a

convalescent home A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal, make healthy'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, are antiquated names for specialised hospitals, for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often ...

for officers. After the war, Chequers became a private home again (now furnished with many 16th century antiques and tapestries and the Cromwellian antiquities), and the childless Lees formed a plan. While previous Prime Ministers had always belonged to the landed classes, the post-First World War era was bringing in a new breed of politician. These men did not have the spacious

country houses An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

of previous prime ministers in which to entertain foreign dignitaries or a tranquil place to relax from the affairs of state. After long discussions with then Prime Minister David Lloyd George, Chequers was given to the nation as a country retreat for the serving Prime Minister under the Chequers Estate Act 1917. The Lees, by this time Lord and Lady Lee of Fareham, left Chequers on 8 January 1921 after a final dinner at the house. A political disagreement between the Lees and Lloyd George soured the handover, which went ahead nonetheless. A

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

window in the long gallery of the house commissioned by Lord and Lady Lee of Fareham bears the inscription:

This house of peace and ancient memories was given to England as a thank-offering for her deliverance in the great war of 1914–1918 as a place of rest and recreation for her Prime Ministers for ever.

The property houses one of the largest collections of art and memorabilia pertaining to Oliver Cromwell in the country. It also houses many other national antiques and books, held in the famous "

long room Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and ...

", including a diary of

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

Lord Nelson. However, the collection is not open to the public. Nearby Coombe Hill was part of the estate until the 1920s when it was given to the National Trust. Coombe Hill and the Chequers Estate are part of the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, designated in 1965. The landscaped park, woodlands and formal gardens surrounding Chequers are listed Grade II on the

Register of Historic Parks and Gardens The Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England provides a listing and classification system for historic parks and gardens similar to that used for listed buildings. The register is managed by Historic England ...

. During the early part of the Second World War, it was considered that security at Chequers was inadequate to protect the Prime Minister,

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

. Therefore, he used Ditchley in

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

until late 1942, by which time the approach road, clearly visible from the sky, had been camouflaged and other security measures had been put in place. Chequers under

Neville Chamberlain Arthur Neville Chamberlain (; 18 March 18699 November 1940) was a British politician of the Conservative Party who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940. He is best known for his foreign policy of appeasemen ...

had one telephone – in the kitchen; but Churchill "at once installed a whole battery on his desk and had them in constant use", according to Marshal of the Royal Air Force Lord Portal of Hungerford, who served as Chief of the Air Staff during the Second World War.

21st century

On 1 June 2007, the Chequers estate was designated as a protected site under Section 128 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005. This specifically criminalised trespass into the estate. In July 2018, Prime Minister Theresa May held a Cabinet meeting at Chequers to agree on the UK's approach to Brexit which became known as the proposed "

Chequers plan The Chequers plan, officially known as ''The future relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union (Cm 9593)'', was a UK Government white paper concerning Brexit, published on 12July 2018 by the prime minister, Theresa May. The ...

". In April 2020, Prime Minister Boris Johnson chose to recover at Chequers after being hospitalised at

St Thomas's St Thomas' Hospital is a large NHS teaching hospital in Central London, England. It is one of the institutions that compose the King's Health Partners, an academic health science centre. Administratively part of the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS F ...

, London, with respiratory complications from COVID-19 which included a three-night stay in ICU.

Chequers as a gift

Sir Arthur Lee donated the Chequers estate after discussions with the then Prime Minister David Lloyd George. Lee noted a new type of politician was emerging, one without large country homes to retreat to and entertain foreign dignitaries. The Chequers Estate Act 1917 contains his reasoning and thoughts for the gift:

Location

Downing Street and Chequers are approximately apart, roughly an hour and a half drive. The Ridgeway National Trail crosses the private drive.

Gallery

Image:Chequers. - geograph.org.uk - 136199.jpg, Rear view of Chequers in 2006 Image:Chequers from the Ridgeway with Coombe Hill behind - geograph.org.uk - 508456.jpg, Chequers from the Ridgeway with Coombe Hill behind it Image:Prime Minister Edward Heath, Queen Elizabeth II, President Richard Nixon, and Pat Nixon at Chequers.jpg, Queen Elizabeth II and Edward Heath with

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Frankish language, Old Frankish and is a Compound (linguistics), compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' an ...

and Pat Nixon, 1970 File:Bush Blair at Chequers.jpg, Tony Blair welcomes U.S. President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

to Chequers, 19 July 2001 Image:George H. W. Bush and Margaret Thatcher at Chequers.jpg, Margaret Thatcher and

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

at Chequers, 12 February 1984 Image:Vladimir Putin 21 December 2001-1.jpg, Tony and Cherie Blair with Vladimir Putin and

Lyudmila Putina Lyudmila Aleksandrovna Ocheretnaya (russian: Людмила Александровна Очеретная, formerly Putina, Путина, , Shkrebneva, Шкребнева; born 6 January 1958) is the former wife of Vladimir Putin (the curren ...

, 21 December 2001

References

Notes Bibliography * * * *

External links

* {{Authority control 1565 establishments in England Buildings of the Government of the United Kingdom Chiltern Hills Country houses in Buckinghamshire Elizabethan architecture Gardens by Henry Avray Tipping Government buildings in England Grade I listed buildings in Buckinghamshire Grade I listed houses Grade II listed parks and gardens in Buckinghamshire Houses completed in 1565 Official residences in the United Kingdom Prime ministerial residences Prime ministerial homes in the United Kingdom Reginald Blomfield buildings Wycombe District