THE LAMB AND FLAG: THE INKLINGS’ FINAL GATHERING PLACE
Directions
From The Eagle and Child, simply cross St. Giles’ Street to the opposite side.
There, you’ll find The Lamb and Flag, easily identified by its hanging golden sign featuring a lamb carrying a flag — the symbol of Christ’s resurrection.
The pub sits at the base of St. John’s College, which owns the building.
Step inside to see the traditional wood-panelled interior, still echoing with the spirit of its literary past.
Orientation cue: The Lamb and Flag faces The Eagle and Child directly — together they form one of Oxford’s most famous pub pairings.
About
“It was here that the Inklings met informally every Tuesday morning to drink and to discuss the books they were reading (and writing). In 1962, after a remodeling of the Bird and Baby (one of many), they moved across the street to The Lamb and Flag.”
The Lamb and Flag, one of Oxford’s oldest pubs, takes its name from a symbol associated with St. John the Baptist, the patron saint of the college that owns the building.
Its origins date back to at least the early 17th century.
When The Eagle and Child underwent renovation in 1962, the Inklings migrated across the street to the Lamb and Flag — a fittingly symbolic move from the eagle of flight to the lamb of faith.
Here, the tone of their meetings was gentler, more reflective. By then, Lewis’s health was declining, and the gatherings were fewer, but the friendship remained deep.
Lewis’s brother, Major Warren Lewis, noted in his diary that these later meetings carried “more talk of heaven than of hobbits.” Still, the laughter endured — and the conversations often wandered from theology to poetry to the simple pleasures of life.
Today, the Lamb and Flag still welcomes scholars, locals, and visitors alike. It continues to be run in part for charitable purposes by St. John’s College, with profits supporting student scholarships — a legacy Lewis would have surely applauded.
