57-59 High Street, King and Queen

  • 1985. King and Queen
  • 1980. King and Queen
  • 2018. King and Queen
  • 2000. King and Queen
  • 1988. King and Queen as shown in the Centenary booklet
  • 1977. King and Queen as shown in the Jubilee booklet when Dave and Ann Bowman ran it
  • Back of the King and Queen, probably c. 1980
  • 1988
  • 1950 when Bernard Perkins was the landlord
Archive Notes:

Parts of this building date back to the 16th century. It has been in continuous use as a public house since around this time and remains so today. It is believed to have been first named after King Charles I and Queen Henrietta Maria, but with the fall of the King in the Civil War, this name might not have endured. Apparently, however, it was re-named ‘William and Mary’ after these monarchs reigned in 1689-1702, and later changed to its current name. The list of licensees record (see record 301) states that it was first recorded in 1702, the year in which King William died and this fits in with the understanding that an inn may not be named after a reigning monarch.

The profits of the King and Queen soared between 1702 and 1763, possibly because of the start of the private coach trade.

Photos taken in 1977 (Dave Bowman and Ann Bowman ran it), 1985, 1986, 1988, 2000 and 2018

According to https://whatpub.com/pubs/OXF/KN-11/king-queen-wheatley it is said to be haunted by the ghost of a former landlord. Bought in 1759 by Richard Tawney, the forerunner of Morrell’s, this was his, and hence Morrell’s first pub. The pub is now owned by Greene King. The ghost reference is supported in https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJZmCSjCmE4 youtube clip by Tracy in 2017,

 

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