As some pubs are still struggling to recover from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, we are looking back at some of Oxford’s lost pubs.
The pandemic has hit pubs hard, with lockdown restrictions forcing them to close for months in 2020.
But the issue of pubs closures predates the pandemic, and has affected the UK for years.
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In 2018, a report from the Office for National Statistics showed that in 2010 there were 105 pubs and bars in Oxford but by 2017 that had fallen to 90. South Oxfordshire was hit the hardest, with 45 pubs closing in just eight years.
Across the UK 5,745 pubs closed over the period.
Pubs have been the hub of the community for generations, and Oxford has its own rich history of inn and taverns.
In 1355, a dodgy pint at the Swindlestock Tavern near Carfax sparked two days of rioting between town and gown.
Morrells brewery was part of Oxford for over 200 years till it closed in 1998; the Inklings (Tolkien, CS Lewis and others) used to meet in the Eagle and Child, and Aunt Sally still offers a local alternative to the pub darts team in Oxford.
The Charles Wells pub reopened in 2019 after being closed for a number of years but the Lamb & Flag on the other side of St Giles has shut - possibly for good.
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Pubs were first forced to close for lockdown in March 2020 and could only serve takeaways.
They shut down again for the second national lockdown in November 2020, and then again in January this year after suffering tough restrictions throughout December.
Pubs could not fully reopen until May 17 this year.
Dozens of pubs have called time on serving customers down the years, whether due to falling trade, competition from supermarkets or increasing rents.
The Horse and Jockey in Woodstock Road dates back much further, to 1880.
It was located at 69 Woodstock Road and was leased to St John's College by Morrells Brewery on a 99-year lease in 1899.
The pub closed in 2002 and was converted into student accommodation.
The Radcliffe Arms does not exist in its previous form but the site does still operate as a boozer, now known as The Rickety Press.
The pub reopened under its new name in 2011, a year after The Radcliffe Arms shut.
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Other pubs loved and lost include The Marlborough House in south Oxford, The Quarry Gate in Headington, The Jack Russell in Marston and Far From The Madding Crowd.
Last month, nearly a fifth of pubs and bars said they feared they would not survive until early August, despite an upturn in optimism since restrictions on hospitality were eased.
According to ONS data, while the number of pub owners reporting a high degree of confidence about their prospects moved above 20% for the first time since November 2020, the sector remained burdened with unsustainable levels of debt.
Asked in early May, almost a fifth said they had a low degree of confidence that they could make it through the next three months.
The proportion fearing collapse inside three months had fallen as low as 3% in April 2021, when beer gardens opened, but then rose to 19%.
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