The Eagle and Child

The first record of the pub's name is from 1684, The pub's long-standing nickname is the Bird and Baby. The pub had been part of an endowment belonging to University College since the 17th century. The college placed it on the market for £1.2 million in December 2003, saying that it needed to rebalance its property portfolio. It was bought by the nearby St John's College, which also owns the Lamb and Flag pub opposite. The Eagle and Child is a Grade II listed building. The pub has remained closed since March 2020 in the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic. Planning permission has been granted to sympathetically refurbish it, with the upper floors being converted to hotel accommodation,…

The Eagle and Child featured in Colin Dexter's novel The Secret of Annexe 3, in which Inspector Morse and Sergeant Lewis read the wooden plaque to the Inklings in the pub's back bar. It was also used as a location in the television series Inspector Morse in the 1991 episode "Second Time Around", in which it was dressed up as "Shears Wine Bar".