Very Jolly Farmers indeed, in Paradise, Oxford.

Banburyshire Photos posted a photo:

This charming 17th century pub at the junction of Paradise Street and Paradise Square has long been Oxford’s gay pub, and apparently one of the oldest gay venues in the country.
It has retained its small low ceilinged rooms and cosy ambience and would not be out of place in any of the nearby market towns, although the clientele on Friday and Saturday nights might have a few traditionalists spluttering into their beer.

It is rather tucked away, like most gay pubs in the past, but it stands in a very historic area, just outside the original West Gate of the town and over-looked by Oxford Prison and Castle that once towered above it just across the street.

Paradise Street and Square have long been a misnomer, although the area has much improved of late. The St. Ebbes area of Oxford bore the worst of Victorian industrialisation and the enormous gas-works that lined both sides of the Thames lay just behind the pub. The area was redeveloped in the 60’s and 70’s, and the enormous Westgate shopping centre and its much loathed multi-story carpark virtually cut this area off from the nearby city centre. Now the Westgate has been redeveloped again, this time in a much more inclusive way to the neighbouring streets and the Jolly Farmers finds itself brought into the fold.

Saturday

lianne southend posted a photo: