Pubs are vital to local communities but many have been closed over the years due to a combination of factors, including the sale of cheap alcohol in supermarkets.

Here we look back at some Oxford pubs which have been lost since the 1990s.

Far From The Madding Crowd

The pub in Friars Entry closed in 2015 after 13 years of trading.

Staff from Far From the Madding Crowd in Friars Entry will serve the last customers on Saturday after 13 years.

Landlord Charles Eld said it had been struggling since 2011 and blamed a number of factors including a change in the culture of drinking and the rent.

He said at the time: “It is a very sad day but the support we have received from our customers on Twitter has made a difficult time more bearable.”

Oxford Mail:

The 63-year-old former manager of Morrell’s Brewing Company added: “I’m getting old now and I don’t think at my age I’d consider reopening the pub in another location.”

The Horse and Jockey in Woodstock Road

Surprisingly not everyone is sad to see a local pub close and in 2002 some residents celebrated the closure of the Horse and Jockey.

The pub on Woodstock Road shut its doors after a campaign by residents.

Mrs Tilly Flynn - living opposite the pub - kept a diary of disturbances to her peace for more than two years.

Oxford Mail:

Morrells of Oxford said it had tried to save the pub and restaurant since it took it over two years prior, but failed to improve slumping sales.

People living in nearby St Bernard's Road, Belsyre Court and Plantation Road frequently complained about noise and disturbance from the 18th-century pub.

Morrells commercial manager Peter Long said at the time: "This is a large pub which isn't popular with its neighbours."

The Cavalier in Marston

This pub in Copse Lane was demolished in 2012.

It first opened in 1956, but was demolished to make way for student flats after standing empty for four years.

It was the first pub to open in the city after the Second World War.

The Apollo in St Aldate's

This pub closed in 1993, according to closedpubs.co.uk, which documents lost pubs.

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One contributor wrote: "The Apollo was a very lively gay pub which closed in around 1993 I think.

Oxford Mail:

"I remember it as full of characters such as the landlord, Derek who often put on drag shows, swinging from a trapeze from the ceiling or arriving in front of the pub bedecked in feather boas on the bonnet of a customers Rolls Royce; all this right in front of the police station.

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"Derek's mother also lived above the pub as I remember. The Apollo had a great community vibe and some weekends I remember motorcades of customers driving to The Greyhound club in Slough after closing, only if there was no lock-in in a little room behind the bar."

The Cock & Camel in George Street

This pub closed in 2008 and became a Jamie's Italian restaurant, the chain's first in the country.

The restaurant closed in 2019 after the chain went into administration and the building has not yet reopened.

Oxford Mail:

The Grapes in George Street

The Grapes shut suddenly before Christmas after West Berkshire Brewery experienced financial difficulties.

It has not reopened yet but landlords the city council said new tenants are welcome to take it over.

The Friar Bacon and The Cherwell

These two Cutteslowe estate pubs shut at the end of the 1990s.

In 1999 time was called on the two local boozers.

Oxford Mail:

Morrells, of Oxford, had been negotiating the sale of The Friar Bacon, in Elsfield Way, Oxford, since October 1998 and landlords Tom and Pauline Cleary were put on on stand-by to move out.

The Cherwell, in Water Eaton Road, Oxford, owned by three partners, shut after only 10 years of business, because of lack of custom.

Joe Bradshaw, 70, of Bodley Place, Cutteslowe, a regular at The Friar Bacon, said he was sad to see the pubs go.

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He said: "It's a great loss to us, it will break the community spirit. We have great functions here, everyone dresses up, young and old."

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