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It has been closed since March 2020 and is being restored by its new owner, so it is a frontage rather than a working pub." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What was the Rabbit Room?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "The small back room where the Inklings met to read work aloud. A wooden plaque commemorates them." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Where did the Inklings go?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Across St Giles to the Lamb & Flag, after this pub was modernised in 1962. That one is open." } } ] } ] } ], "editorialMarkdown": "[View next **The King’s Arms**]()\n\nFood & drink / Oxford\n\n## The Eagle and Child\n\nThe Inklings’ Rabbit Room, where Tolkien and Lewis read to each other. Closed since 2020 and under restoration.\n\n[Plan this experience]()\n\n[Explore the story]()\n\nCost **Free to visit**\n\nTime to allow **Allow 45–90 minutes**\n\nPace **Easy**\n\nPlace **St Giles**\n\nBest time **Year-round**\n\n01 / Why it matters\n\n### More than a stop on a list.\n\nThe most famous literary pub in England — and currently shut, so it is a doorway to stand outside rather than a pint to drink.\n\nThere has been a pub on this St Giles site since 1650, though the name is first recorded in 1684. It belonged to University College from the sixteenth century and later to St John’s. Its fame rests on the back room. From the 1930s until 1962 the Inklings met in the Rabbit Room — C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, Charles Williams and others — reading work in progress aloud to one another. It was here in June 1950 that Lewis handed round the proofs of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. When the pub was modernised in 1962 the group moved across St Giles to the Lamb & Flag. Be warned before you plan around it: the Eagle and Child has been closed since March 2020. The Ellison Institute of Technology bought it from St John’s College in 2023 and it is being restored, so for now it is a plaque and a frontage rather than a pub.\n\n![The Eagle and Child, Oxford]()\n\nFood & drink **The Eagle and Child** Oxford\n\n02 / The essentials\n\n### What makes it remarkable.\n\n1. 01\n\n A pub on the site since 1650; the name is first recorded in 1684.\n2. 02\n\n The Inklings met in the back Rabbit Room from the 1930s until 1962.\n3. 03\n\n C. S. Lewis distributed proofs of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe here in June 1950.\n4. 04\n\n The group moved to the Lamb & Flag across St Giles when the pub was modernised in 1962.\n5. 05\n\n Grade II listed. Closed since March 2020; bought by the Ellison Institute of Technology in 2023 for restoration.\n\n03 / The place\n\n### The building in context.\n\nA story written in stone since **1650**.\n\nBuilt\n\nEarliest supported date: 1650\n\nStyle\n\nHistoric Oxford public house\n\n04 / Before you go\n\n### Plan it well.\nEnjoy it properly.\n\nPractical detail, separated from the story so you can scan what matters when you are ready to visit.\n\n01\n\n#### Tickets & entry\n\nFree to enter; you pay for what you drink and eat. No admission charge.\n\n02\n\n#### Opening hours\n\nOrdinary pub hours, which change with the season, the day and the licensee — check the pub’s own page before making a special journey. Most Oxford pubs serve food at lunchtime and in the evening rather than all day.\n\nContinue exploring / Oxford\n\n### What will you\n*do next?*\n\nCompare the practical essentials first, then open the experiences that earn a place in your plans.\n\n01 Culture & history\n\n [01 Culture & history **Bate Collection of Musical Instruments** Explore experience]() [02 Culture & history **Bodleian Library guided tour** Explore experience]() [03 Culture & history **Christ Church** Explore experience]() [04 Culture & history **Christ Church Cathedral** Explore experience]() [05 Culture & history **History of Science Museum** Explore experience]() [06 Culture & history **Oxford Castle** Explore experience]() [07 Culture & history **Oxford University Museum of Natural History** Explore experience]() [08 Culture & history **Pitt Rivers Museum** Explore experience]() [09 Culture & history **Sheldonian Theatre** Explore experience]() [10 Culture & history **Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities** Explore experience]() [11 Culture & history **The Ashmolean Museum** Explore experience]() [12 Culture & history **The Radcliffe Camera** Explore experience]() [13 Culture & history **The Weston Library** Explore experience]() [14 Culture & history **University Church of St Mary the Virgin** Explore experience]()\n\n02 Food & drink\n\n [15 Food & drink **Head of the River** Explore experience]() [16 Food & drink **Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons** Explore experience]() [17 Food & drink **Oxford Covered Market** Explore experience]() [18 Food & drink **The Bear Inn** Explore experience]() [19 Food & drink **The Chequers** Explore experience]() [20 Food & drink **The King’s Arms** Explore experience]() [21 Food & drink **The Lamb & Flag** Explore experience]() [22 Food & drink **The Perch** Explore experience]() [23 Food & drink **The Trout Inn** Explore experience]() [24 Food & drink **The Turf Tavern** Explore experience]() [25 Food & drink **The White Horse** Explore experience]() [26 Food & drink **Westgate Oxford** Explore experience]()\n\n03 Walks & views\n\n [27 Walks & views **The Bridge of Sighs** Explore experience]()\n\n04 Parks & meadows\n\n [28 Parks & meadows **Christ Church Meadow** Explore experience]() [29 Parks & meadows **Oxford Botanic Garden** Explore experience]() [30 Parks & meadows **Port Meadow** Explore experience]() [31 Parks & meadows **University Parks** Explore experience]()\n\n05 On the water\n\n [32 On the water **Punt the Cherwell** Explore experience]() [33 On the water **Salter's Steamers** Explore experience]()\n\n06 Go deeper\n\n[43 Colleges All the colleges **Every Oxford college** Open the college guide]()[Food & drink / a story **The nine oldest pubs** Walk the timeline]()[Plan / Itinerary builder **Build your Oxford day** Start planning]()\n\n05 / Where it is\n\n### Find it\nand what’s nearby.\n\nExplore around The Eagle and Child\n\n The map will load when you reach it.\n\n05 / Good to know\n\n### Questions,\nanswered.\n\n01 Can I go in?\n\nNot at present. It has been closed since March 2020 and is being restored by its new owner, so it is a frontage rather than a working pub.\n\n02 What was the Rabbit Room?\n\nThe small back room where the Inklings met to read work aloud. A wooden plaque commemorates them.\n\n03 Where did the Inklings go?\n\nAcross St Giles to the Lamb & Flag, after this pub was modernised in 1962. That one is open.\n\nBefore you visit\n\n### Check hours, tickets and access.\n\nCheck opening hours, admission prices and access with the venue before setting off.\n\nUpdated\n\nDate unavailable\n\nBy\n\n[Above Guide Editorial Team]()\n\nUseful links\n\n- [Official site eit.org ↗]()\n- [Supporting source oxfordhistory.org.uk ↗]()\n- [Supporting source historicengland.org.uk ↗]()\n\n[Report a correction]()\n\nContinue exploring\n\n### Make Oxford\nyour own.\n\n[Visit the official site]()[← All things to do]()\n\nOpening hours, prices and access change. Confirm details on the official site before visiting.\n\nFiled under Pub / Historic / Food & drink / Since 1650" }