Grade II-listed Lamb & Flag pub in Oxford is closing after 408 years

It began serving beer on its current site in the 1600s and survived the Great Plague but the Lamb and Flag in Oxford is set to close for good after being hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

The Grade II-listed pub where JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis and Thomas Hardy once visited has shut its doors after 408 years.

The Lamb and Flag will be officially closed on January 31 after suffering dips in revenue over the last year.

The Lamb has been in operation since 1566 just south of St John’s College in Oxford, moving to its current location on St Giles in 1613.

St John’s College named it after the two symbols of St John the Baptist: a lamb and a flag, shown on the inn’s sign.   

The Lamb and Flag in Oxford survived the Great Plague but is closing after 408 years after being hit by the coronavirus pandemic

The Lamb has been in operation since 1566 just south of St John's College in Oxford, moving to its current location on St Giles (pictured in the late 1800s) in 1613

The Lamb has been in operation since 1566 just south of St John’s College in Oxford, moving to its current location on St Giles (pictured in the late 1800s) in 1613

The Lamb and Flag on St Giles (painted  from a window of the Randolph Hotel in 1945. The Lamb is located behind the trees  in the top left) will be officially closed on January 31 after suffering dips in revenue over the last year

The Lamb and Flag on St Giles (painted  from a window of the Randolph Hotel in 1945. The Lamb is located behind the trees  in the top left) will be officially closed on January 31 after suffering dips in revenue over the last year

The pub is in three parts: the oldest at the rear is medieval; the middle section is around 400 years old, and the front part is Georgian.

JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis were known to drink at the pub but they chose the nearby Eagle and Child as their preferred place for literary meetings. 

It inspired Thomas Hardy’s last completed novel Jude The Obscure in which working class Jude Fawley dreams of becoming an Oxford scholar. 

The pub’s profits had gone towards funding scholarships for graduate students and funding will now come directly from St John’s College.

The Lamb and Flag Scholarships were awarded to graduate students who have no other source of funding to pursue their doctorate degrees.

Students were offered around £20,000 per year on the pub’s scholarship for books, study and living expenses. 

JRR Tolkien (pictured) and CS Lewis's literary group the Inklings were also known to frequent the pub between the early 1930s and late 1949

CS Lewis

JRR Tolkien (left) and CS Lewis’s (right) literary group the Inklings were also known to frequent the pub between the early 1930s and late 1949

It is believed Thomas Hardy (pictured with his second wife Florence) wrote much of his last novel Jude The Obscure in the late 19th Century at the pub. The city of Christminster is a thinly-disguised Oxford in the book and the pub featured in the book is thought to be based on the Lamb

It is believed Thomas Hardy (pictured with his second wife Florence) wrote much of his last novel Jude The Obscure in the late 19th Century at the pub. The city of Christminster is a thinly-disguised Oxford in the book and the pub featured in the book is thought to be based on the Lamb

Oxford West and Abingdon MP Layla Moran has called for more support for local pubs from Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak

Oxford West and Abingdon MP Layla Moran has called for more support for local pubs from Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak

Jessica Fay, 25, received funding for her DPhil in English literature in 2010.

She told the Oxford Mail: ‘I very much enjoy my course and I’m hoping to stay in academia. 

‘This sponsorship has enabled me to come to Oxford. I wouldn’t have been able to otherwise. 

‘St John’s students tend to gather at the Lamb and Flag – it is a very friendly and cosy pub.’ 

A history of the Lamb and Flag 

The Lamb has been in operation since 1566 just south of St John’s College in Oxford, moving to its current location on St Giles in 1613.

St John’s College named it after the two symbols of St John the Baptist: a lamb and a flag, shown on the inn’s sign. 

The pub is in three parts: the oldest at the rear is medieval; the middle section is around 400 years old, and the front part is Georgian. 

It is believed Thomas Hardy wrote much of his last novel Jude The Obscure in the late 19th Century at the pub.

The city of Christminster is a thinly-disguised Oxford in the book and the pub featured in the book is thought to be based on the Lamb.

JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis’s literary group the Inklings were also known to frequent the pub between the early 1930s and late 1949.

They were more commonly associated with the Eagle and Child pub on the opposite side of the street.

It featured in TV detective show Inspector Morse between 1987 and 2000 as the titular character’s played by the late John Thaw pub of choice.

Construction of the Sir Thomas White and Kendrew Quadrangles in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries led to the pub being close to St John’s College’s activities again.

St John’s took over the management of the pub in 1997 and it was mentioned in PD James’s 1992 novel The Children Of Men.

After the college considered shutting the pub, it began operating it as a free house in 1999 and the upstairs rooms were converted into student accommodation. 

The 16th century pub owned by St John’s College has featured frequently in the popular crime series Inspector Morse as the boozer-of-choice for the ale-loving detective played by the late John Thaw. 

Real ale group CAMRA said it will contest any application to change the building’s use.

Oxford West and Abingdon Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran has called for more support for local pubs from Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak. 

She said: ‘The closure of The Lamb & Flag is not only tragic and devastating news, but it shows just how in trouble our pubs are. 

‘There is a real risk of this being just the canary in the coal mine with more local pubs closures soon to follow.

‘Government has the power to stop this disaster, and yet they’re not listening. 

‘Sunak should do the right thing for publicans and extend furlough for the hospitality sector for as long as needed. 

‘Without this vital support, I just can’t see a bright future for our local pubs.’

Deputy bursar for St John’s College Professor Steve Elston said the historical pub has been ‘hard hit by the pandemic’.

He told the BBC: ‘Despite the best efforts of the staff and looking at every option to keep it open, the trading figures of the last 12 months have meant that the pub is not currently financially viable.

‘Also the college, as a charity, is not allowed to financially support a loss-making business that is not part of its core charitable objectives.’

Oxford spokesman for the Campaign for Real Ale David Richardson said: ‘It is very disappointing to see St John’s call time on one of Oxford’s most historic pubs.

‘We hope someone will come forward to run it as we would oppose any attempt to change it to another use.’

Thousands of bars, pubs, sports clubs and other licensed premises closed last year as the hospitality sector was hit by the impact of the coronavirus crisis, according to new research. 

Britain lost around 6,000 licensed premises last year, nearly three times than in 2019, according to  a study by consultants CGA and business advisory firm AlixPartners.

The pandemic and wave of lockdowns led to a net decline of 5,975 sites in 2020, around 5% of the total, said the report.

The turmoil of 2020 led to the permanent closure of 9,930 sites, with just under 4,000 opening for the first time, according to the study.

The number of restaurants, pubs, bars and sports and social clubs all fell last year amid the ban on events and socialising, said the report. 

The 16th century pub owned by St John's College has featured frequently in the popular crime series Inspector Morse as the boozer-of-choice for the ale-loving detective played by the late John Thaw (pictured)

The 16th century pub owned by St John’s College has featured frequently in the popular crime series Inspector Morse as the boozer-of-choice for the ale-loving detective played by the late John Thaw (pictured)

‘Our report takes stock of the huge damage wreaked by the pandemic on the licensed sector in 2020,’ said Karl Chessell of CGA.

‘With stop-start trading for much of 2020 and a widespread shutdown during what should have been a bumper Christmas, nearly 10,000 licensed venues have not been able to make it through, and it is sadly inevitable that thousands more casualties will follow.

‘After such a bleak Christmas it is difficult to be optimistic about the market.

‘But consumers are desperate to get back to eating and drinking out, and we can be confident that footfall and sales will return when the sector can finally reopen.

‘In the meantime, the case for government support over the next few months is urgent and compelling.’