At least three city pubs remain closed at present
Morgan Pub Collective’s second foray onto the Oxford pub scene has ended in disappointment as it has handed back the keys of the Gardeners Arms on North Parade Avenue to Greene King. Re-opened by Morgan in October 2023 after nearly a year of closure, the Gardeners struggled to find its place in North Oxford and was often nearly deserted even at weekends.
The pub – not to be confused with the Gardeners Arms in nearby Plantation Road – was taken off the Morgan website in December. But just before Christmas there appeared to be hope as a new manager, Micky Toner, arrived and opening hours settled down. Drinkers visiting on Saturday January 4 were unaware of the imminent closure, but this proved to be its final day of trading. An advertisement board for the pub remained in place at the corner of Bambury Road over the weekend.
However, the small London-based pub company will soon be back up to two pubs in the city. It took on the Angel & Greyhound in St Clement’s Street in September and announced its intention for the pub to revert to the Oranges & Lemons, the name it had in the 1970s and 1980s. Morgan’s first venture locally was to re-open the Grapes in the city centre in August 2023, which has proved very successful and is now Oxford CAMRA’s City Pub of the Year.
The company’s founder, Dick Morgan, said: “My son James was interested in the Gardeners but it proved too small for our type of operation. It now goes back to Greene King and needs to be owner-operated by someone living upstairs.
“We are cracking on with the Oranges & Lemons, which will have eight cask lines and 30 keg lines. I’m not sure we will have traditional pub games as we really need the space.”
The large “wallpaper” photograph of punk era customers will remain, as it was once a famous music venue. It is expected to re-open before the end of January after what Dick has described as “de-Youngification”, removing features put in by Young’s during more than 30 years running the pub. Young’s had invested in it shortly before it was sold to a property company that Morgan works with.
It currently has 26 pubs around London and the Home Counties, and recently took on the George in Twickenham, leased from Greene King but to become a free house. It already operates the Sussex Arms in Twickenham.
Whether Greene King struggles to find an operator for the Gardeners Arms remains to be seen, but there were few takers when previous tenants Dave and Jenny Rhymes retired after nearly 30 years running it and the rent the brewery was trying to get had to be reduced. It is just across the narrow street from the very successful Rose and Crown, and within walking distance of several other pubs.
- The Anchor in North Oxford remains closed, having operated as a food-led pub owned by Wadworth. Another recent casualty, just before Christmas, was the Berkshire on Abingdon Road. This pub, which had removed it cask ale lines, has had several operators and various names over the last few years, including Home, Hubble & Home, and the Crooked Pot. It is owned by Admiral Taverns and the most recent tenants appear to have lasted only six months.