OXFORD: A historic pub in the
centre of
Oxford that has served students, scholars and literary greats for over 450 years is to shut down, a cultural casualty of the Covid pandemic.
The Lamb and Flag, once frequented by the likes of “Lord of the Rings” author J R R
Tolkien and his friend C S Lewis, who wrote “The Chronicles of Narnia”, has suffered a disastrous loss of revenues since the start of the pandemic. The pub, first opened in 1566 and was moved to its present locationin the city centre in 1613, is owned by St John’s College, one of 45 colleges and private halls that make up
Oxford University. “The Lamb and Flag has been hard hit,” said deputy bursar of St John’s, announcing the pub would close on January 31. \