The Eagle and Child
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The Eagle and Child is a moderately common pub name. This article refers to The Eagle and Child in St Giles', Oxford, England, which is particularly popular with university students who familiarly and alliteratively refer to it as the Bird and Baby (until recent times, the Bird and Brat or even the Bird and Bastard) or the Fowl and Foetus.
It has become the destination for literary pilgrimages because of its reputation as the haunt of the Inklings from 1939 to 1962. The Inklings was a writers' group which included J. R. R. Tolkien (of Lord of the Rings and Hobbit fame) and C. S. Lewis. They met every Tuesday morning for drinks in an area at the back of the pub known as the Rabbit Room. Contrary to popular impression (and also contrary to the plaque posted in the pub), the Inklings did not read their manuscripts to each other in the pub: these readings took place at evening meetings usually in Lewis's college rooms. The Inklings changed allegiance in 1962 by moving across St Giles' to The Lamb and Flag pub, but it is the Eagle and Child's Rabbit Room that attracts visitors.
It has become something of a mark of distinction for Tolkien fans to make a "pilgrimage" (as a Mecca of sorts) to the Eagle and Child, even if they live in a different continent.
Image:Eagle and Child (interior).jpg
More recently, the pub became known as the regular watering hole of Colin Dexter, who created Inspector Morse.
The pub's sign shows an eagle carrying a small child in a fold of cloth suspended from a claw, which is the crest of the Earl of Derby.
A small, narrow building, the pub reputedly served as the lodgings of the Chancellor of the Exchequer during the English Civil War (1642–49), when Oxford was the Royalist capital. The landmark served as a play house for the Royalist army, and pony auctions were held in the rear courtyard. These claims are inconsistent with the earliest date usually given for construction of the pub, 1650, and the fact that the pub lies outside the city walls may also give some cause for doubt.
The pub is owned by St John's College, Oxford, the second wealthiest college in England, who bought it from University College which placed it on the market for £1.2 million in December 2003. It had been part of an endowment belonging to Univ. since the 17th century. The college said it was selling the Eagle and Child to rebalance its property portfolio, and it was expected the pub would continue to trade as usual.