Че́керс: Загородная резиденция премьер-министра Великобритании

Country house of the UK Prime Minister
the British Prime Minister's residence

Chequers ('/tʃ//ɛ//k//ər//z/ CHEKərz) is the country house of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. A 16th century manor house in origin, it is near the village of Ellesborough, halfway between Princes Risborough and Wendover in Buckinghamshire, at the foot of the Chiltern Hills, 40 mile (64 km) north west of central London. Coombe Hill is 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.

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

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 and great granddaughter of King Henry VII. Lady Mary had married without the monarch's consent, and as punishment was banished from court by Queen Elizabeth I and kept confined. 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 style. The Tudor panelling and windows were ripped out, and battlements with pinnacles installed. Toward the end of the 19th century, the house passed through marriage to the Astley family. Between 1892 and 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.

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". In April 2020, Prime Minister Boris Johnson chose to recover at Chequers after being hospitalised at St Thomas's, London, with respiratory complications from COVID 19 which included a three night stay in ICU.

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:

Downing Street and Chequers are approximately 41 mile (66 km) apart, roughly an hour and a half drive. The Ridgeway National Trail crosses the private drive.