The owners of the Oxford pub The Eagle and Child have submitted an application for the renovation of its Grade II listed building. Established over 300 years, it is most famous for being the meeting place for a group of writers called “The Inklings”, which included household names like J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis.
The Eagle and Child was bought from University College by St John’s College in 2003. In early 2020 it closed during the Covid-19 pandemic and has not been re-opened since.
After prior plans to transform the pub into a hotel were scrapped, in 2023 the Ellison Institute of Technology (EIT), which owns a scientific research campus in Oxford, purchased the Eagle and Child and promised to “refurbish and reopen the iconic venue”.
Notably, the writers’ discussion group met there every Monday or Tuesday for lunch in the lounge “Rabbit Room”. The Inklings, who met throughout the 1930s and 1940s, used these gatherings to share their respective writings and converse. Sections of Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy were read out within the walls of the pub, and in 1950, Lewis distributed draft copies of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to the group’s members.
Noteworthy Inklings other than Tolkien and Lewis include Owen Barfield, the philosopher and literary critic, and Hugo Dyson, an academic whose comments to Lewis during a stroll along Addison’s Walk caused the latter’s conversion to Christianity.
The CEO of EIT David Agus said: “We are humbled and proud to be able to safeguard this treasured pub’s future and continue its legacy as a place for brilliant people to come together.”
The EIT’s planned restorations, to be carried out by architectural firm Foster and Partners, include repairing the windows and cleaning the original stonework in order to stop any potential decomposition. Additionally, the EIT plans to remove the conservatory dining space and open a side passageway to the rear garden.
In a document filed by the Oxford City Council, a representative said: “EIT is committed to carrying out sensitive repairs that allow the heritage value of these important Oxford buildings to be celebrated, and once again reopened for residents, tourists, and the wider community to enjoy.”
The application for listed building consent is expected to be granted or rejected by authorities in the coming weeks.
