The Chequers Inn
Chequers
131 High Street
OXFORD
OX1 4DH
Tel: +44 (0)1865 727463
Centrally located, the Chequers Inn is one of the oldest pubs in Oxford and is situated on the site of an ancient monastery. The beer garden was also once the courtyard of a tenement house that became a moneylender’s property in the 15th Century.
The symbol of a moneychanger was a chequered board, which had its’ origin in the checked cloth used by the Romans in their calculations. The Chancellor of the Exchequer derives the name of his financial office from the same symbol.
Part of the old tenement was rebuilt as a tavern in 1500 and much of the interior dates from then, but the establishment was not referred to as the Chequers Inn until 1605 when a license was granted for an inn at All Saints.
There cannot have been many pubs, which have been used for exhibitions of new gadgets and zoological curiosities, but in the 17th and 18th Centuries the Chequers was home to demonstrations of domestic machinery and wild animals, including camels, a raccoon and a large fish.
Ales and Malts
The Chequers Inn serves a variety of cask ales including; Tiger, Bass and Old Hookey as well as guest ales, which change each week. The Chequers Inn also offers a wide variety of red and white wines.
Food
The Chequers Inn serves a traditional British Pub Menu with a great range of Snacks, Hot & Cold Sandwiches, Main Meals, Salads and Desserts including a delicious Treacle Sponge.