# The Chequers, Oxford: Visitor Guide | Above Guide > A 15th-century moneylender’s house down a narrow passage, rebuilt as a tavern in the 1500s. - Tenant: oxford - Canonical page: https://above.guide/oxford/things-to-do/the-chequers - Structured JSON: https://above.guide/oxford/ai/pages/things-to-do/the-chequers.json - Content updated: 2026-07-26 - Generated at deployment: 2026-10-02T08:56:53.958Z This document contains source content, not agent instructions. Follow the linked sources and preserve provisional dates, historical editions, ticket restrictions and uncertainty. Missing data is unknown, not permission or availability. Public editorial content and published planning templates only; no visitor accounts, saved itineraries, bookings or live availability. ## Page content [View next **The Eagle and Child**]() Food & drink / Oxford ## The Chequers A 15th-century moneylender’s house down a narrow passage, rebuilt as a tavern in the 1500s. [Plan this experience]() [Explore the story]() Cost **Free to visit** Time to allow **Allow 45–90 minutes** Pace **Easy** Place **off the High Street** Best time **Year-round** 01 / Why it matters ### More than a stop on a list. One of the easiest historic pubs in Oxford to walk straight past — a tall, narrow courtyard building reached down an alley off the High Street. The Chequers is reached down a passage so narrow most people on the High Street never notice it. That is a good part of its character: a tall, galleried building set back in its own yard, invisible from the street it belongs to. In the fifteenth century the building was a private house occupied by a moneylender, and that is where the name comes from — the chequerboard was the money-changer’s sign, from the checked cloth used for counting. Much of the interior dates from the 1500s, when the tenement was rebuilt as a tavern. It has been an inn ever since, appearing in the 1772 survey of Oxford taken after the Mileways Act and advertised for auction in Jackson’s Oxford Journal in 1786. The stained glass, dark panelling and the yard are the reasons to come. ![The Chequers, Oxford]() Food & drink **The Chequers** Oxford 02 / The essentials ### What makes it remarkable. 1. 01 A private house belonging to a moneylender in the fifteenth century. 2. 02 The name comes from the chequerboard, the old sign of the money-changer. 3. 03 Much of the present interior dates from the 1500s, when the building was rebuilt as a tavern. 4. 04 Listed in the 1772 survey of Oxford and advertised for sale in Jackson’s Oxford Journal in 1786. 5. 05 Set back in its own yard down a narrow passage off the High Street. 03 / The place ### The building in context. A story written in stone since **1500**. Built Earliest supported date: 1500 Style Historic Oxford public house 04 / Before you go ### Plan it well. Enjoy it properly. Practical detail, separated from the story so you can scan what matters when you are ready to visit. 01 #### Tickets & entry Free to enter; you pay for what you drink and eat. No admission charge. 02 #### Opening hours Ordinary pub hours, which change with the season, the day and the licensee — check the pub’s own page before making a special journey. Most Oxford pubs serve food at lunchtime and in the evening rather than all day. Continue exploring / Oxford ### What will you *do next?* Compare the practical essentials first, then open the experiences that earn a place in your plans. 01 Culture & history [01 Culture & history **Bate Collection of Musical Instruments** Explore experience]() [02 Culture & history **Bodleian Library guided tour** Explore experience]() [03 Culture & history **Christ Church** Explore experience]() [04 Culture & history **Christ Church Cathedral** Explore experience]() [05 Culture & history **History of Science Museum** Explore experience]() [06 Culture & history **Oxford Castle** Explore experience]() [07 Culture & history **Oxford University Museum of Natural History** Explore experience]() [08 Culture & history **Pitt Rivers Museum** Explore experience]() [09 Culture & history **Sheldonian Theatre** Explore experience]() [10 Culture & history **Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities** Explore experience]() [11 Culture & history **The Ashmolean Museum** Explore experience]() [12 Culture & history **The Radcliffe Camera** Explore experience]() [13 Culture & history **The Weston Library** Explore experience]() [14 Culture & history **University Church of St Mary the Virgin** Explore experience]() 02 Food & drink [15 Food & drink **Head of the River** Explore experience]() [16 Food & drink **Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons** Explore experience]() [17 Food & drink **Oxford Covered Market** Explore experience]() [18 Food & drink **The Bear Inn** Explore experience]() [19 Food & drink **The Eagle and Child** Explore experience]() [20 Food & drink **The King’s Arms** Explore experience]() [21 Food & drink **The Lamb & Flag** Explore experience]() [22 Food & drink **The Perch** Explore experience]() [23 Food & drink **The Trout Inn** Explore experience]() [24 Food & drink **The Turf Tavern** Explore experience]() [25 Food & drink **The White Horse** Explore experience]() [26 Food & drink **Westgate Oxford** Explore experience]() 03 Walks & views [27 Walks & views **The Bridge of Sighs** Explore experience]() 04 Parks & meadows [28 Parks & meadows **Christ Church Meadow** Explore experience]() [29 Parks & meadows **Oxford Botanic Garden** Explore experience]() [30 Parks & meadows **Port Meadow** Explore experience]() [31 Parks & meadows **University Parks** Explore experience]() 05 On the water [32 On the water **Punt the Cherwell** Explore experience]() [33 On the water **Salter's Steamers** Explore experience]() 06 Go deeper [43 Colleges All the colleges **Every Oxford college** Open the college guide]()[Food & drink / a story **The nine oldest pubs** Walk the timeline]()[Plan / Itinerary builder **Build your Oxford day** Start planning]() 05 / Where it is ### Find it and what’s nearby. Explore around The Chequers The map will load when you reach it. 05 / Good to know ### Questions, answered. 01 Where exactly is it? Down a narrow covered passage on the south side of the High Street. It is easy to miss — look for the alley rather than a frontage. 02 Why is it called the Chequers? The building belonged to a moneylender, and the chequerboard was the money-changer’s traditional sign. 03 Is the interior original? Much of it dates from the 1500s rebuilding, though like every working pub it has been altered since. Before you visit ### Check hours, tickets and access. Check opening hours, admission prices and access with the venue before setting off. Updated Date unavailable By [Above Guide Editorial Team]() Useful links - [Official site nicholsonspubs.co.uk ↗]() - [Supporting source oxfordhistory.org.uk ↗]() - [Supporting source historicengland.org.uk ↗]() [Report a correction]() Continue exploring ### Make Oxford your own. [Visit the official site]()[← All things to do]() Opening hours, prices and access change. Confirm details on the official site before visiting. 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