Mike Biles, from A Bit About Britain, continues his explorations at Smorgasbord:

Delighted to welcome Mike Biles, author of A Bit About Britain’s History as a guest writer until the end of the year.

Aslan and Gandalf go for a pint

How often do you walk into a pub mentally dwelling on things like wizards and talking lions? Be honest now. If you need help with this, try stepping over the threshold of Oxford’s Eagle and Child, because it was a favourite watering-hole of close friends JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis.

Disappointingly, there’s nothing obviously magical about the Eagle and Child – though it does offer a captivating pint of local Brakspear’s for a paranormally reasonable price, and the barmaid is enchanting. It has been a pub since 1650 and, before that, had a role in the Civil War (1642-49), when Oxford was the Royalist capital of England and the building was either used as a pay-house or a playhouse, depending on the source of your typo. Its name comes from the arms of the Earl of Derby, the Stanley family, who I assume had some connection with it back in the foggy mists of time. The Eagle and Child’s long history has, however, been subordinated to the lure of its more recent fantastic literary connections.

Continue reading at Smorgasbord