The Eagle and Child.

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. (Other less common nicknames have included the "Bird and Brat", the "Bird and Bastard", or the "Fowl and Foetus".) Image File history File links Download high resolution version (960x1280, 115 KB)The Eagle and Child, pub in Oxford, England; photograph taken by MPerel, April 2002 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (960x1280, 115 KB)The Eagle and Child, pub in Oxford, England; photograph taken by MPerel, April 2002 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... View of St Giles including St Benets Hall. ... Oxford is a city and local government district in Oxfordshire, England, with a population of 134,248 (2001 census). ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem No official anthem specific to England — the United Kingdom anthem is God Save the Queen. ... The University of Oxford (usually abbreviated as Oxon. ... Alliteration is a literary device in which the same sound appears at the beginning of two or more consecutive words. ...

Sign outside the pub.

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 there every Monday or Friday before lunch, to drink and talk, usually in an area at the back of the pub, which was then a private sitting room and is now 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. Copyright free photo supplied by Clare Woodcock, Information Officer, Oxford University. ... Copyright free photo supplied by Clare Woodcock, Information Officer, Oxford University. ... The Eagle and Child pub (commonly known as the Bird and Baby) in Oxford where the Inklings met on Thursday nights in 1939. ... John Ronald Reuel Tolkien CBE (3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English philologist, writer and university professor, best known as the author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. ... The Lord of the Rings is an epic high fantasy novel written by the English academic J. R. R. Tolkien. ... This article or section contains a plot summary that is overly long or excessively detailed compared to the rest of the article. ... Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963), commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis, was an Irish author and scholar. ... The Lamb and Flag is a centrally located public house and old coaching inn at 12 St Giles, Oxford, England. ...

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. Tolkien fandom is an international, informal community of fans of the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, especially of the Middle-earth legendarium which includes The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit and The Silmarillion. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Animated, colour-coded map showing the various continents. ...

The Rabbit Room bears a plaque which is much photographed, and there are photos and other mementos of the writers on the walls.

More recently, the pub became known as the regular watering hole of Colin Dexter, who created Inspector Morse. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (3072x2048, 1418 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Inklings The Eagle and Child User:Brighterorange ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (3072x2048, 1418 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Inklings The Eagle and Child User:Brighterorange ... (Norman) Colin Dexter is the British author of the Inspector Morse novels. ... Morse (left) as played by John Thaw in the television adaption (with Kevin Whately as Lewis (right)). Detective Chief Inspector Morse is a fictional character, who features in a series of thirteen detective novels by British author Colin Dexter, though he is better known for the 33 episode TV series...

The pub's sign shows an eagle carrying a small child in a fold of cloth suspended from a claw, which was derived from the crest of the Earl of Derby. The image is said to refer to a story of a noble-born baby having been found in an eagle's nest.^[1] It is said to bear a resemblance to artistic representations of the abduction of Ganymede by Zeus in the guise of an eagle in Greek Mythology.^{[citation needed]} Genera Several, see below. ... The Earl of Derby is a title in the peerage of England. ... The Rape of Ganymede, by Rubens In Greek mythology, Ganymede, or closer to the Greek Ganymede the great man that leads (in Greek — Γανυμήδης, Ganumēdēs) was a divine hero whose homeland was the Troad. ... The Statue of Zeus at Olympia Phidias created the 12-m (40-ft) tall statue of Zeus at Olympia about 435 BC. The statue was perhaps the most famous sculpture in Ancient Greece, imagined here in a 16th century engraving Zeus (in Greek: nominative: Zeús, genitive: Diós), is... The bust of Zeus found at Otricoli (Sala Rotonda, Museo Pio-Clementino, Vatican) Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the Ancient Greeks concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. ...

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 pay 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 Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister responsible for all economic and financial matters. ... The English Civil War consisted of a series of armed conflicts and political machinations that took place between Parliamentarians (known as Roundheads) and Royalists (known as Cavaliers) between 1642 and 1651. ... Prince Rupert of the Rhine Cavaliers was the name used by Parliamentarians for the Royalist supporters of King Charles I during the English Civil War (1642–1651). ...

The pub had been part of an endowment belonging to University College since the seventeenth century. The college placed it on the market for £1.2 million in December 2003, saying that it needed to rebalance its property portfolio. It was bought by the nearby St John's College, who already owned the Lamb and Flag pub opposite. College name University College Collegium Magnae Aulae Universitatis Named after Established 1249 Sister College Trinity Hall Master Lord Butler of Brockwell JCR President Peter Surr Undergraduates 420 MCR President Monte MacDiarmid Graduates 144 Homepage Boatclub Crest of University College, Oxford University College (in full, the The Master and Fellows of... St Johns College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. ... The Lamb and Flag is a centrally located public house and old coaching inn at 12 St Giles, Oxford, England. ...

Notes

1. ^ Stanley crest history. Retrieved on 2006-05-14.

Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays full 2006 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... May 14 is the 134th day of the year (135th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Eagle and Child
• Tolkien's Oxford: The Bird and Baby
• The C. S. Lewis Foundation website
• Eagle and Child Pub: Oxford, England
• The Eagle and Child Pub
• Images of England — details from listed building database (245844)