A popular closed pub in a village near Kidlington could reopen following refurbishment.

In January last year, The Blacks Head Inn in Bletchingdon shut and it has been closed ever since.

Drinkers in the village have been yearning for their pub to reopen, according to parish council chairman Dan Robins. 

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And he said there was still hope that the hostelry could trade again in the future, despite its lengthy closure.

Mr Robins said: "It's one of the most common questions in the village - 'when will the pub reopen?'

(Image: The Blacks Head Inn) "We are in touch with the land agent and understand that the owner wants to turn the pub into more of a destination.

"But any refurbishment work would require planning permission because the building is Grade II listed.

"My feeling is that once you take that into account it could be at least a year before the pub is ready to reopen."

Mr Robins added that The Blacks Head Inn has been registered as an asset of community value but understood that the owner has not intention of selling it, so this would not apply.

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The parish council chairman said it was positive there were "aspirations in place" to reopen.

When the pub closed, staff posted a message saying: "Tomorrow night will unfortunately be the last night the pub will be open.

(Image: The Blacks Head Inn) "We would just like to thank everyone that has supported us over the last year it’s been amazing and we have lots of great memories of our time here.

"We are so sad to be moving on but the cost of living has made it impossible to stay open."

Barney Tharby, who took over as landlord in February 2022, said afterwards the cost of living crisis had forced him and his wife to leave.

He added at the time: "Our utility bills doubled, and in October we noticed a 35 per cent drop in revenue, because some customers could no longer afford to keep coming in - they had no money left for beer, and we had to make the decision that the business for us was no longer viable."

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The traditional country pub with exposed beams, a pool table and beer garden, plus B&B rooms, is now listed as being temporarily closed.

Following the closure, drinkers in the village praised the landlords for their efforts during the past year.

Tracey Cormack wrote: "The right couple to run our local. Thank you Grace Tharby, Barney Tharby and the team."

The land agent has been asked for a comment.

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About the author 

Andy is the Trade and Tourism reporter for the Oxford Mail and you can sign up to his newsletters for free here. 

He joined the team more than 20 years ago and he covers community news across Oxfordshire.

His Trade and Tourism newsletter is released every Saturday morning. 

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