High Street
Shipton-under-Wychwood
Oxfordshire
OX7 6BA
01993 830330
The Shaven Crown is genuinely ancient, built in Cotswold stone by the monks of Bruern Abbey in the mid 1300s (photo 1). It was built as a guest house for pilgrims and travellers, one of a number of monastic hospices built in the 14th and 15th centuries which still exist today. After Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries it was taken over by the Crown. It became a royal hunting lodge before Elizabeth I gave it to the village to be used as an inn, with income going to relief of the poor. It has a pretty good claim to be the oldest pub in England, though its period as a hunting lodge may disqualify it.
The stone archway leads to the medieval great hall with its timbered interior, open to the roof. Out the back is the enclosed courtyard with a garden for outdoor eating and drinking. Inside there is a bar, a restaurant and eight ensuite bedrooms.
Attached to the north wing is a substantial timber gantry supporting the inn sign (photo 2). The name, the Shaven Crown, is unique in the UK and is a good deal less ancient than the inn itself. It was called the Crown until some time in the 20th century when it was renamed to reflect the inn’s monastic founders – the inn sign shows a monk with a shaven crown.
