Here we remember some of Oxford’s quirkiest ‘lost’ pubs, including Walter Mittey’s and The Marlborough House.

Fortunately for drinkers Walter Mittey’s on Osney Island remains open as The Holly Bush, but The Marlborough House, off Abingdon Road, is gone forever.

For a number of years the pub which reopened very successfully as The Holly Bush in 2019, traded as Walter Mittey's, and was run by landlord Ian Beesley.

He achieved national notoriety when he used a digger to remove a speed hump outside his home in Ferry Hinksey Road.

Oxford Mail:

The pub itself was gloomy yet welcoming, with a variety of odd decorations.

In 2003 the pub was renamed The Holly Bush and this pub closed in 2013, not reopening until 2019.

Drinkers gave the West Oxford hostelry a warm welcome following its six-year absence.

The 167-year-old pub was given a striking dark blue exterior before being relaunched by Bedfordshire-based Wells & Co.

It has been well used ever since.

Another quirky, much-loved local boozer was The Marlborough House off Abingdon Road, which closed for good in 2008.

All the locals knew each other, there was darts and an old-fashioned juke box and, as legend has it, the occasional lock-in.

Oxford Mail:

Perhaps the saddest loss in recent years was The Mitre in High Street.

Oxford Mail:

The Grapes has reopened after being closed for two years.

Popular with theatre goers and real ale drinkers, the cosy pub with a long bar dates back to the 1800s.

It was established by 1808 and may originally have been called the Bunch of Grapes.

Oxford Mail:

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It was rebuilt in its present form in about 1894 and and once had 'swinging front doors likened to a Wild West saloon'.

In 2019, The Mitre in High Street owned by Lincoln College, one of Oxford's oldest pubs, shut while student rooms were being refurbished.

Oxford Mail:

The pub has not reopened but Gusto, an Italian restaurant chain, has taken over.

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This story was written by Andy Ffrench, he joined the team more than 20 years ago and now covers community news across Oxfordshire.

Get in touch with him by emailing: Andy.ffrench@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter @OxMailAndyF