It was a main stop for travellers on the way from Oxford to London in the eighteenth century. 

But since closing 13 years ago, the Crown & Thistle pub in Headington has fallen into disrepair.

There is a hole in the floor of the derelict building and windows have been broken into and boarded up.

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But plans to turn the former boozer in Old Road into flats have now been rejected for a second time.

Oxford Mail: The Crown and Thistle pub in Headington has fallen into disrepair since closing in 2011The Crown and Thistle pub in Headington has fallen into disrepair since closing in 2011 (Image: Ed Nix)

Oxford Mail: The Crown and Thistle pub in Headington has fallen into disrepair since closing in 2011

Medallion, the freehold owners of the pub, wanted to convert it into dwellings for between one to nine people.

Its planning application was rejected by Oxford City Council, the planning authority, last week.

The council decided Medallion had not made “reasonable efforts” to market the pub before submitting the plans.

It also claimed there were too few pubs in the area “to meet the needs of the local community”.

Built in the mid-eighteenth century, the Crown & Thistle served one of the main routes between Oxford and London.

But the pub has been left to decay since it stopped trading in 2011.

A report by council officers pointed to “significant damp, damage and debris throughout the building, as well as there being a large hole in the floor”.

Oxford Mail: The Crown and Thistle pub in Headington has fallen into disrepair since closing in 2011

They said windows are broken, the garden is overgrown, and there is structural damage to parts of the building.

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A previous bid to convert the building into flats was made in 2022 but was also turned down by the council.

In its latest decision on January 10, the authority said it should be restored and reopened as a pub.

Oxford Mail: City council leader Susan Brown said more could be done to market the Crown and Thistle as a pubCity council leader Susan Brown said more could be done to market the Crown and Thistle as a pub (Image: Contributed)

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, city council leader Susan Brown said: “If the owners actually marketed it as a pub then I believe interest would be shown.

“There is not one single pub left in Churchill ward.

“This was the community pub and it would be fantastic to have it back.

“Unfortunately the building has suffered years of neglect.”

It comes despite property experts Fleurets declaring the Crown & Thistle “neither economically viable or marketable” as a pub.

In a viability report submitted with the plans, Fleurets said a pub operator would be reluctant to fix the damage because of the “costs and risks”.

The report said taking over the pub would not provide an “acceptable return”.

Nik Lyzba, a planning agent on behalf of Medallion, added: “There is no realistic prospect of the building reopening as a public house.

“On the other hand, the site and building are appropriate for residential use, for which there is an urgent need in Oxford.”