History of Headington’s pubs
A Black Boy rode a White Horse and carried the Royal Standard shouting “Rule Britannia”. He was chasing a White Hart which had a Bell around its neck. This disturbed the Fox, which ran aground in the Prince’s Castle
That was a well-known nineteenth-century saying about the eight principal pubs of Old Headington (which then included the hamlet of Barton and New Headington, but not Quarry). The last three of these pubs no longer exist, and pubs like the Royal Standard that were then humble beerhouses are not included in the rhyme.
There are 13 surviving pubs in Headington.
History of ten of Headington’s pubs
Follow the above pointer at the top right to view each of the pages below in turn:
- Black Boy (91 Old High Street)
- Britannia (1 Lime Walk)
- Butcher’s Arms (Wilberforce Street)
- Chequers (11 Beaumont Road, Headington Quarry)
- Crown & Thistle (132 Old Road)
- Mason’s Arms (2 Quarry School Place)
- Royal Standard (78 London Road)
- Six Bells (Beaumont Road)
- White Hart (St Andrew’s Road)
- White Horse (London Road)
Former Headington pubs
- List of old Headington pubs that are now closed and/or demolished
Three newer Headington pubs
- The Quarry Gate (19 Wharton Road) was built in 1937 to serve the new estate that had just been built between New Headington and Quarry villages. It was named after the gate crossing the footpath through the former allotments.
- The Ampleforth Arms (53 Collinwood Road) was built in 1939 when the Risinghurst estate was developed.
- The Fairview Inn (16 Glebelands) is Headington’s newest pub, built in 1958. The “fair view” is over Southfield Golf Course, which opened in 1920.
