The Eagle and Child
The Eagle and Child is a pub located in the heart of Oxford, right around the corner from the Ashmolean Museum, right across from the Lamb and Flag. Nicknamed “The Bird and Baby” by locals, the pub has stood since at least the 17th century, where before it purportedly was a house for the Chancellor of the Exchequer during the English Civil War. The pub itself is actually owned by St. John’s College, which also owns the Lamb and Flag.
However, the pub’s true claim to fame is that from the years 1933 to 1962 it served as the meeting ground for the Inklings, a writing group which contained many famous authors such as J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Hugo Dyson, and Charles Williams. Here, these authors read and critiqued each other’s works, before the pub would eventually refurbish itself and force the group to relocate across the street. Tolkien himself only was an active member until the early 1950’s, before he slowly departed the group.
Reflections on The Eagle and Child
History flows in strange ways in Oxford, and the Eagle and Child is no exception. Our class discussed several times during our work how differently one feels history in a place where your people have been living for a thousand years; there is a sense of immutability, of connection to the lives that came before yours, that is incredibly tangible in these places, and is nothing like I’ve ever felt anywhere in the States. It was a little mind-boggling to step into such a small, ordinary place and realize that this was where the Inklings met to discuss their work, a place where history was made.
Stepping into the Eagle and Child, and subsequently walking Oxford, put a day in Tolkien’s life into much clearer focus for me. Just around the corner, off the main road, is the house where Tolkien lived while he was on staff at the Oxford English Dictionary. The Museum of the History of Science, which now occupies the building where the OED offices were in Tolkien’s time, is less than a ten minute walk away. Just across the street from the Museum is the White Horse, another pub Tolkien surely frequented that may have been the inspiration for the Prancing Pony.
On a more personal note, this was the only place I had fish and chips while I was in England, and it was excellent! The fish was beer-battered in Nicholson's pale ale and served with a typical side of mashed, minty peas, which will catch you off guard if you aren't expecting the mint. The place was rather empty, considering what a famous Tolkien and Lewis site it is, though I wonder how many people just walk by and snap a photo without bothering to take at least a peek inside or stop for a pint.
