While The Bear claims to date from the 15th century, the name and location of the pub have changed at various times in its history, leading some to question whether the 15th century Bear Inn and the modern day pub on the corner of Alfred Street and Blue Boar Street should be considered the same pub.

The original Bear Inn was in a different location to the present day pub. It stood a few hundred metres away on the corner of the High Street and Alfred Street. The exact date it opened is not known, but by 1432 it was trading as an inn and known as Le Tabard, and by 1457 it had changed its name to The Bear Inn.

The land on which the modern-day Bear stands housed the inns stables, and later a house for the Ostler (the man employed to look after the horses). This house was then converted into a pub in its own right in 1774, and given the name The Jolly Trooper.

For a quarter of a century the two inns appear to have operated as separate establishments, but in 1801, after trading for nearly 400 years, the original Bear Inn on the High Street was demolished and rebuilt as shops and housing.

To confuse matters further, at this point The Jolly Trooper changed its name to The Bear, and has traded off the former pubs reputation as 'the oldest pub in Oxford' ever since! It's not clear what motivated the name change, it's possible that the landlord of the former Bear Inn took over The Jolly Trooper and changed the name in the hope of attracting his previous loyal clientele, but this is just speculation.

So is the modern-day Bear really Oxford's oldest pub? Some would argue that if a pub changes both its name and its location then it no longer qualifies as the same establishment, but I'll leave you to decide!

Like the age of the pub, the origin of the name 'The Bear' is also a matter of some debate. One oft-repeated explanation is that the pub, like the nearby Bear Lane, were named for their proximity to Oxford's bear pits, where the cruel 'sport' of bear-baiting was once practiced.

However, I've found nothing to substantiate the claim that there was ever a bear-pit in this area. The only reports of bear-baiting in Oxford that I've found refer to the practice taking place at Magdalen college, some distance away.

Another claim as to the origin of the name is that it was inspired by the 16th century landlord Matthew Harrison (1556-1630) who kept a pet bear named Furze. This pet bear's name was likely inspired by Sir Reginald FitzUrse, one of the notorious four knights who killed Thomas Becket in 1170, and whose family shield featured a bear. While charming, the idea that this pet inspired the name is somewhat contradicted by the fact that The Bear Inn had been trading under that name for over a hundred years before Matthew Harrison's birth!