THE new landlords of a popular East Oxford hangout have pledged to make it the best pub in Cowley Road.

Popular musicians’ watering hole The Brickworks reopened at the weekend as The Library under new bosses Henry Cullen and Tom Reynolds.

They aim to revitalise the pub, bringing back local beers, food and live DJ sets to the cellar venue.

Former Oxford Brookes University student Mr Cullen, 24, said: “We think the new name of The Library suits Oxford, and it is quite funny that Students will be able to honestly say they are in The Library when they are at the pub!”

He said: “We want it to be a pub that everybody can come to, a nice place to go to have a drink. Cowley Road has got lots of bars, but this will be a proper pub. We will be working our way round Oxfordshire to get our ales.”

He said food would be available from the autumn, and the cellar room would be available for hire.

Mr Reynolds, 31, former manager at The Duke pub in nearby St Clements, said: “Students, locals and anyone will be welcome.

“We have already sophisticated it up, and we want to be the best pub in the Cowley Road. We are not tied to anyone and we are trading as an independent free house, and we want to be the best.

“People who have come in so far are loving it.”

The pub has a long history, changing names over the years from The Crown to The Rat Hole to The Brickworks. The pub’s previous landlord, Dickon Ware, has moved away from the city.

Aidan Larkin, 34, from East Oxford, who used to run DJ nights at The Brickworks, said: “It has always my favourite place on Cowley Road, but it never seemed to be open for much of the past 12 months. When I first came to Oxford 12 years ago, there were so many places to go on Cowley Road, but now you do struggle a little bit.

“It always had a special charm, and was the place where everyone knew your name. It is good that someone seems to have taken it over who has a bit of love for it.”

The Oxford branch of the Campaign for Real Ale welcomed the revamp.

Pub preservation officer Tony Goulding said: “It is a fact of life that we have lost all the traditional pubs on the Cowley Road, and we welcome anybody trying to restore the situation.”