The wait is finally over and the historic Lamb & Flag pub will reopen tonight.

The pub in St Giles, one of the city’s oldest, closed in January last year due to adverse trading conditions in the pandemic.

But community interest group the Inklings stepped in to take over the running of the St John’s College-owned pub. 

It was due to reopen earlier this year, but the resignation of Steve Jones, who had been appointed landlord, led to delays, and restoration work caused further delays but it will now reopen tonight at 6pm the Inklings group has announced.

Read again: Lamb & Flag will reopen next month

While the pub is reopening, the restoration work is not finished, so initially the opening hours will be limited.

Oxford Mail:

It will be open tonight from 6pm until 11pm and then from 5pm until 11pm daily, for a few weeks.

Inklings Group spokesman Dave Norwood, who is currently in Portugal, said: "We will be serving pints from 6pm.

"It will take till year end to properly finish (the work) but we felt we had to open.

"There will be limited hours for a few weeks."

Oxford Mail:

Like the Eagle and Child on the other side of St Giles, the pub was a popular haunt for fantasy writers CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien, who were part  of a literary group called the Inklings.

Read more: Eagle and Child has been left to rot 

Mr Norwood said earlier: "In 1911 a young man arrived at Exeter College, Oxford to read classics. A couple of years later, he changed courses to read English language and literature, which turned out to be quite significant.

Oxford Mail:

"So we will reopen our pub at 6pm on Thursday, October 6, 2022, which is possibly, or exactly, 111 years to the day that JRR Tolkien arrived in Oxford. 

"Thanks again for all your support and patience. It was a harder undertaking than we first envisaged, but all worthwhile journeys are.

"The extra work and time delays would have depleted our funds, but these extras have been covered by an incredibly generous donation from an anonymous Inkling.

Oxford Mail:

"So we can still reopen the pub with a healthy bank balance. As a Community Interest Company our ambition remains the same: to ensure the pub remains open to Oxford and the world for the next 1,000 years."

Earlier this year, Mr Norwood pledged that the pub would 'never close' once it reopened.

Read more: The Mitre will reopen as an Italian restaurant

The Lamb & Flag is one of Oxford's oldest pubs and there was shock around the globe when it closed.

The Oxford branch of the real ale group CAMRA has backed the Inklings group's takeover.

Spokesman Dave Richardson said earlier: "We are sure the Lamb & Flag will regain its place as one of Oxford’s top pubs serving local beers."

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This story was written by Andy Ffrench, he joined the team more than 20 years ago and now covers community news across Oxfordshire.

Get in touch with him by emailing: Andy.ffrench@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter @OxMailAndyF