Club

Turf Tavern

Recomendado por 65 habitantes locales,

Consejos de residentes locales

Penny & Sinclair
November 8, 2019
The Turf Tavern (or just "the Turf") is a popular but well-hidden historic pub in central Oxford, England. Its foundations and use as a malt house and drinking tavern date back to 1381. The low-beamed front bar area was put in place sometime in the 17th century. It was originally called the Spotted Cow but the name was changed in 1842, likely as part of an effort to extinguish its reputation as a venue for illegal gambling activities. The pub is frequented primarily by university students (of both Oxford University and Oxford Brookes University). It is located at the end of a narrow winding alley, St Helens Passage (originally Hell's passage), between Holywell Street and New College Lane, near the Bridge of Sighs. Running along one side of the pub is one of the remaining sections of the old city wall. Due to the illegal activities of many of its original patrons, the Turf sprang up in an area just outside the city wall in order to escape the jurisdiction of the governing bodies of the local colleges. The Turf Tavern is also where former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke set a Guinness World Record for consuming a yard glass of ale in 11 seconds in 1963. Local legend also has it that former U.S. president Bill Clinton, while attending Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, infamously "did not inhale" during an evening of carousing at the pub. Additional celebrities and public figures who have dined or drunk at the tavern include Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, Tony Blair, CS Lewis, Stephen Hawking and Margaret Thatcher. It also served as a hangout for the cast and crew of the Harry Potter movies while the nearby colleges were used as locations throughout the filming of the series. It was also featured in the show Inspector Morse. The pub inspired The Lamb and Flag, a fictional drinking establishment featured in Jude the Obscure, author Thomas Hardy's final novel. It is also reportedly haunted by "Old Rosie," the ghost of a young woman who allegedly drowned herself in a nearby moat after her lover failed to return from the English Civil War. The Turf is still a frequent gathering place for the Rhodes community in Oxford as the site of Turf Tuesday every week during term.
The Turf Tavern (or just "the Turf") is a popular but well-hidden historic pub in central Oxford, England. Its foundations and use as a malt house and drinking tavern date back to 1381. The low-beamed front bar area was put in place sometime in the 17th century. It was originally called the Spotted…
Alex
December 15, 2018
Iconic Oxford pub set in a charming medieval stone building and famous for being a filming location for the Harry Potter franchise.
Edward
September 29, 2017
One of the oldest pubs in Oxford, you get to it via a 'hidden' alleyway. There is a garden for summer drinking and they serve good food and beers.
Sarah
September 18, 2016
Located down a narrow, winding alleyway, The Turf Tavern is initially tricky to find, but well worth the effort. The pub has a long list of famous patrons, from the fictional, such as Colin Dexter’s Inspector Morse and Brideshead Revisited’s Charles Ryder, to the real, including Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton and Bill Clinton, all of whom have enjoyed the Tavern’s maze of interconnected rooms, wide range of guest ales and large, heated beer gardens. The pub has a year round, lively atmosphere, with locals, tourists and students alike crowding around tables to socialise and sample the traditional English pub fare. The Turf Tavern is also a popular post-exam celebration spot, so come June keep an eye out out for ecstatic students covered in confetti and cradling their first pint in weeks.
Located down a narrow, winding alleyway, The Turf Tavern is initially tricky to find, but well worth the effort. The pub has a long list of famous patrons, from the fictional, such as Colin Dexter’s Inspector Morse and Brideshead Revisited’s Charles Ryder, to the real, including Elizabeth Taylor, Ri…
Alexander & Hilary
June 1, 2015
Excellent beer, reasonable food. Most interesting pub in the centre, next to the oldest remaining walls of Oxford. Where Bill Clinton "didn't inhale" and Bob Hawke downed a yard of ale.

Actividades únicas en la zona

Tour a pie por Oxford: las principales atracciones con guía local
Escápate a Oxford Classic a pie
Recorrido por la Universidad de Oxford con antiguos alumnos

Los residentes locales también recomiendan

Ubicación
Bath Place
Oxfordshire, England