Oxford - 'The Eagle and Child' - the drinking den of JRR Tolkien

Forget Hollywood, forget New Zealand--if you want to know the true home of Middle Earth, then come to this tiny pub on the road north out of Oxford. The ‘Eagle and Child,’ or ‘Bird and Baby’ as it is sometimes called, was the meeting place of ‘the Inklings,’ a set of Oxford literary figures such as C. S. Lewis, Neville Coghill, and Professor John Ronald Rule Tolkien, who would meet in the ‘Rabbit Room’ and read to each other excerpts from their work. For the visitor, it offers a vision of a world gone by--a world of open fires, hearty conversation, and good ale. And I can safely vouch that the food is good too.

The tavern itself dates from the 1620s, when it was the first inn to be encountered on the road north out of Oxford. It is named after the crest of the Earls of Derby and during the civil war was popular with royalist soldiers. To find it, you must head north from ‘The High’ along the magnificent St. Giles. This impressively wide street houses the cream-colored Balliol and St. John’s colleges, Ashmolean Museum, and the posh Randolph Hotel. St. Johns in particular has a beautiful medieval quadrangle, and it is worth sneaking past the porter to view its gargoyles and immaculate lawns. Tolkien was professor of Anglo Saxon at nearby Exeter College and used to wander over after lectures to read excerpts of his works to his friends. He lived in Oxford for 50 years until the attention of his fans became too much and he fled to Bournemouth.

If you read his works, then the simple things in life--country walks, a good pipe, a tankard of ale, and good company--come to the fore. The pub has this in abandon with a very narrow bar, rowing pictures on the walls, cider jugs on ledges, partitioned ‘snugs’ or alcoves, and reams of timbered wood. You can perch on wooden bar stools or take a table in the covered garden. The place is very quiet (broken only by a jukebox) and is a good place for a pint and a newspaper. Tweedy old men with walking sticks and berbers testify to its continued popularity with locals.

The range of ales is as good as expected with Bombardier, Old Speckled Hen, Theakstons, Ruddles, and Strongbow cider on tap. The food is exceptional, with Sunday roasts (£5.50), gammon and pineapple (£4.50), and huge melts of bacon and cheese (£4.75) that are almost too big for the plate. Frodo and Gandalf would certainly approve . . .