Last week I received great news — The Lamb and Flag in Oxford has reopened.

This historic Oxford pub operated continuously for over 450 years, but ceased trading in 2021, a casualty of the COVID lockdowns.

Established in 1566, and moved to its current site in 1613, the Lamb & Flag is an institution for generations of Oxford residents and students, including myself. It’s panelled walls, wonky layout, and stone floors offered a soothing antidote to the modern, sometimes soulless gastropub chains. To quote Evelyn Waugh, the pub “exhaled the soft airs of centuries of youth”.

It was home to The Inklings (although the pub across the road gets all the credit), a writing group consisting of Tolkein and C.S. Lewis amongst others, who would meet regularly to read and discuss chapters from their latest books. More recently it saw Tony Blair pulling pints behind the bar in his student days.

It’s a pub you can feel good drinking in for reasons beyond historical aesthetic — profits are used to fund scholarships at a nearby Oxford college.

My favourite memory of the place was slipping away at midday, to partake in the now lost ritual of the lunchtime pint. What I love about the place is its egalitarianism. A brotherhood of lunchtime drinkers convene at the bar to discuss events far and wide. Members include Oxford dons, security guards, students, lawyers, and of course the barman. The place is Moe’s Tavern — Oxford Style. I will always fondly remember the eclectic conversation I had sat at the bar in-between lectures.

I look forward to revisiting the newly reopened pub on my next trip to Oxford — may it endure for another 450 years!