The Bear Inn is one of the oldest public house

Public house

A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...

s in Oxford

Oxford

The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, dating back to 1242. It stands on the corner of Alfred Street

Alfred Street

Alfred Street is a street running between the High Street to the north and the junction with Blue Boar Street and Bear Lane at the southern end, in central Oxford, England. To the south is Christ Church, one of Oxford University's historic colleges....

 and Blue Boar Street

Blue Boar Street

Blue Boar Street is a narrow historic street running betweenSt Aldate's to the west and the north of Alfred Street to the west, in central Oxford, England...

, opposite Bear Lane

Bear Lane

Bear Lane is a short historic street in central Oxford, England. The lane is located just north of Christ Church. It runs between the junction of Blue Boar Street and Alfred Street to the west, and King Edward Street and the north of Oriel Square to the east....

 in the centre of Oxford, just north of Christ Church

Christ Church, Oxford

Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...

.

The original Bear was a coaching inn

Coaching inn

In Europe, from approximately the mid-17th century for a period of about 200 years, the coaching inn, sometimes called a coaching house or staging inn, was a vital part of the inland transport infrastructure, as an inn serving coach travelers...

 on an adjacent site, closer to the High Street

High Street, Oxford

The High Street in Oxford, England runs between Carfax, generally recognized as the centre of the city, and Magdalen Bridge to the east. Locally the street is often known as The High. It forms a gentle curve and is the subject of many prints, paintings, photographs, etc...

. It had previously been called Parne Hall and Le Tabard, but adopted its present name in the 15th century, after either a bear pit

Bear pit

A bear pit was historically used to display bears, typically for entertainment and especially bear-baiting. The pit area was normally surrounded by a high fence, above which the spectators would look down on the bears....

 on site or the bear and ragged staff on the crest of Richard Neville

Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick

Richard Neville KG, jure uxoris 16th Earl of Warwick and suo jure 6th Earl of Salisbury and 8th and 5th Baron Montacute , known as Warwick the Kingmaker, was an English nobleman, administrator, and military commander...

, the Earl of Warwick

Earl of Warwick

Earl of Warwick is a title that has been created four times in British history and is one of the most prestigious titles in the peerages of the British Isles.-1088 creation:...

.

It was especially fashionable in the 17th century, when judge

Judge

A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...

s and royal commissioner

Commissioner

Commissioner is in principle the title given to a member of a commission or to an individual who has been given a commission ....

s were among the patrons. The heir to the throne in Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

 visited in 1652. When it closed in 1801, there were over thirty bedrooms, with stabling for a similar number of horses.

The present building was built in the early 17th century as the residence of the inn's ostler

Hostler

An hostler or ostler in the horse industry is a groom or stableman, who is employed in a stable to take care of horses...

. It was converted into a separate tavern, The Jolly Trooper, in 1774, and took over the name of the Bear when the other inn closed.

A distinctive feature of the Bear is a collection of over 4,500 snippets of decorative ties

Necktie

A necktie is a long piece of cloth worn for decorative purposes around the neck or shoulders, resting under the shirt collar and knotted at the throat. Variants include the ascot tie, bow tie, bolo tie, and the clip-on tie. The modern necktie, ascot, and bow tie are descended from the cravat. Neck...

, started in the 1950s, and given by customers (some famous) in exchange for half a pint of beer. These are displayed in glass-fronted cases on the walls and even the (low) ceiling. The ties mostly indicate membership of clubs, sports teams, schools and colleges, etc.

The Bear Inn also has a long running weekly pub quiz on Tuesday nights.

External links

• The Bear Inn information from Daily Information
  Daily Information
  Daily Information is a printed information sheet in Oxford, England, displayed especially around the University colleges and departments, but also in local businesses. It has been in continuous existence since 28 September 1964, mostly as a brightly coloured A2 sheet...