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Chequers (/ ˈ tʃ ɛ k ər z / CHEK-ərz) 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 miles (64 km) north-west of central London.
The house in the Chilterns was gifted a century ago to whoever holds the office of prime minister. Chequers: The country retreat that has seen many historic moments in politics Skip to main content
On becoming Prime Minister, Alec Douglas-Home was reluctant to forsake the more comfortable and modern Dorneywood for the antique splendours of Chequers. Another, James Callaghan as Foreign Secretary , also had the use of Dorneywood (later Chevening was to become the official country home for the holder of that office).
The county is also home to many historic houses, some of which are open to the public through the National Trust, such as Waddesdon Manor, West Wycombe Park and Cliveden; [2] and others which still act as private houses such as the Prime Minister's country retreat Chequers. [3]
As Chequers places host to a crucial Brexit cabinet meeting, a look back at how British prime ministers repeatedly fell in love with their country home.
Chequers was gifted to the British state in 1921 and has been the country escape for each prime minister ever since, reports Ellie Muir
In 1917, they gave the estate, and the entire contents of the house which included a library, historical papers and manuscripts and a collection of Cromwellian portraits and artefacts, in trust to the nation to be used as the official residence and retreat of successive British Prime Ministers in perpetuity, enabled by the Chequers Estate Act ...
The Chequers Estate Act 1917 (7 & 8 Geo. 5. c. c. 55) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that designates Chequers as the official country residence of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom .