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Original Chequers, 1910s	Picture Source: Hania Franek
The Chequers (or Checkers) was situated on Studham Lane. This pub was present by 1871 when the publican was George Birchmore. It has now been demolished with a private house built on the site in the 1930s.
The Chequers was owned by Ivinghoe brewers Roberts & Wilson in the early 20th century. They sold their brewery and, more relevantly, their pubs to Benskin's of Watford in 1927 and the Chequers was one of them. Soon after Benskin's took over, they rebuilt the Chequers in its current form and it thrived as a pub for the next 60 years or so. For much of that time it was the only pub in or near Whipsnade, the Hunters Lodge being very much a latecomer, and for whatever reason the Chequers closed in the 1990s (I think) and it was converted into the huge house it now is. My Dad held the wedding party in the Chequers when he got remarried in 1977, which I remember was a great place for such an event and we (the Perrys) and my step family (the Samms from Caddington) all really enjoyed it. Even in 1977, when almost every former Benskin's pub had been re-badged with those awful plastic yellow and white letters they insisted on using, the Chequers retained its old metal lettering on the wall facing the green, proclaiming "Benskins". I wonder where those letters went?
Adrian Perry (January 2023)
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Other Photos
Rebuilt Chequers	Picture Source: Bernard Lamb