New plans have been unveiled by the Ellison Institute of Technology (EIT) for the renovation of The Eagle and Child, a famous Oxford pub.
The historic pub, once frequented by C S Lewis and J R R Tolkien, has been closed since the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. After the venue was bought by the EIT in 2023, it is now set to undergo extensive work to bring it back into use. The EIT was established by the world’s second richest man Larry Ellison, co-founder of the software company Oracle.
Lewis and Tolkien were part of an informal group of writers known as The Inklings, who hosted regular meetings in the pub with other academics. The Rabbit Room, to the rear of the property, contains a small plaque commemorating the significance of the building.
The plans have been drawn up by world-renowned architects Foster + Partners, which has said that the “light-touch interventions” are designed to “revive and continue the legacy of the Grade II listed building”. The pub dates back to 1650, and has seen patchwork updates over the decades, many of which are set to be “retained and treated as part of the building’s evolving narrative”, with a “conservation-led approach”.
A new dining room will also be added and the pub’s third parlour room will be reinstated, providing additional space. “The neighbouring 50 and 51 St. Giles’ Street will become a café that serves coffee and baked goods”, helping to transform The Eagle and Child into “an all-day destination”.
Gerard Evenden, Head of Studio at Foster + Partners, said: “The design preserves the unique character of The Eagle and Child and respects its many layers of history.
“The scheme is stitched together by a newly landscaped garden and restored passageway between the café and the pub – new social spaces that transition effortlessly from day to night.”
With an estimated completion date of 2027 for the refurbishment of the pub, the development is the latest in a number of investments in Oxford from the EIT, including a recent £890 million injection into Ellison’s technology institute at the Oxford Science Park and a £118 million pledge to fund an Oxford vaccine research project that aims to tackle pathogenic diseases using AI.
Having founded the American software company Oracle in 1977, Ellison has amassed a fortune worth almost $400 billion. The value of Oracle has burgeoned in the past year, as it has struck deals with companies, such as ChatGPT owner OpenAI, to build AI infrastructure and cloud computing capacity. Ellison has positioned himself as an ally of President Trump.
Ellison has also been in the process of building a new media empire, being at the forefront of a consortium of possible buyers for the US operations of TikTok and buying Paramount Global earlier this year, the owner of US news outlet CBS, through his media production company Skydance.
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