Historic Lewis and Tolkien Pub Set for Revival from Tech Billionaire
The historic pub, The Eagle and Child, known for its association with literary legends C.S. Lewis and J.R.R Tolkein and their Inklings group, is set to make a comeback. Ellison Institute of Technology (EIT), led by renowned US tech billionaire Larry Ellison, has recently acquired the iconic establishment.
The pub served as a meeting point for The Inklings who would frequently gather to discuss their works and ideas, including Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia. Previously owned by St John’s College, the pub’s legacy was in jeopardy when it closed three years ago.
“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 including for our Ellison Scholars”
According to the BBC, EIT will “refurbish and reopen” the pub to the public while modernizing the space by adding a restaurant, meeting spaces, and a new study area for Ellison Scholars and EIT Oxford staff.
There’s no current timeline for its reopening.
Have you been able to visit the The Eagle and Child? What do you think of the plan for its revival? Leave a comment below!
I visited briefly several years ago, and thought I’d like to have a proper evening with a few friends. It’s lovely. Of course we posed for photos outside!
I hope the restoration will be true to the Inklings period.
I was able to visit in 2013. It really was just a tiny area and quite crowded.
Hopefully, they will still maintain the Inklings Corner in all the renovations and additions. Looking forward to tracking the developments!
I’ve been there a few times, some years ago, and enjoyed a good meal and wished I could step back in time and be a “fly on the wall” while the Inklings were having a discussion! It’s a nice cosy traditional English pub. I hadn’t heard it had closed and I’m quite shocked to hear that — it obviously happened during the pandemic.
English pubs are often owned by larger corporate entities, usually ones that own a number of pubs and do the same general “branding” and menus throughout the chain. I’ve never known of one being owned by a “US tech billionaire” though… it’s good that there’ll obviously be a lot of money to back the restoration, but I hope they’ll manage to retain the traditional atmosphere, and of course that the “Inklings Corner”, at least, will be kept pretty much as it is.
I haven’t been to Oxford for about 5 years, as I no longer live reasonably close to it, but I’ll keep an eye on developments and this will be a good excuse to have a trip there once the new “Bird and Baby” is open, to see what it’s like! 😀
I’ve been to Oxford as a child, but not to the Eagle and Child, since my parents did not take me there. It would be lovely to go there one day. I hope the new owners keep the links to The Inklings. I actually predict they will do so, because of the tourism money they will get from it. Or perhaps the owners simply respect the history of the town and the pub.
I wonder if a version of this pub will feature in the upcoming two movies about Lewis, being produced by Felllowship of the Performing Arts (see their website) or Freud’s Last Session. I doubt it will be in the latter, but I could be wrong.
If I go to the UK again, I will aim to go to the Bird and Baby, and of course The Kilns. And Finchley? LOL.
Wonderful news! I hope to see it in person one day.
Well it’s better open than closed – even if the renovations take us further away from what it was like when Lewis frequented.