Oxford pub named after a joke sells cheapest pints in city

But The Four Candles in George Street is no joke. It’s one of the city’s busiest pubs renowned for its cheap pints of beer, and reasonably priced food.

Selected as the Oxford Mail Pub of the Week, The Four Candles could be about to get even busier.

READ MORE: Popular pub announces reopening date

Owner JD Wetherspoons has applied to the city council to keep its doors open to patrons later into the night.

A premises licence application for the pub proposes allowing the venue to serve alcohol and host live music from 9am until 2am every night.

A spokesperson for JD Wetherspoon said: “Having successfully trialled opening later under its licence on Friday and Saturday nights earlier this year, The Four Candles now wants to offer the same opportunity to its customers to stay later in the pub Sunday to Thursday.

The Four Candles in Oxford (Image: Oxford Mail)

“The majority of Wetherspoon pubs open until Midnight Sunday to Thursday and until 1am Friday and Saturday.”

The Four Candles first opened in 2008 after the building was previously occupied by Yates’ wine lodge and later the Slug and Lettuce.

The unusual name comes from the celebrated comedy sketch that most people remember by the Two Ronnies — the one where Ronnie Barker tries to buy fork handles.

The name was chosen as the late comedian’s school days were spent just along the road at the City of Oxford High School for Boys, and his first tentative steps on the stage were made a couple of hundred yards away at the Oxford Playhouse.

Mr Barker’s family moved to Oxford from Bedford and bought the house at 23 Church Cowley Road in 1935 when Ronnie was five. He lived there until 1949.

The Porridge and Two Ronnies star’s first job after leaving school in the city was clerking at the Westminster Bank in Cowley.

Ronnie Barker filming in Woodstock in the 1970s (Image: Oxford Mail)

In his later years, the comedian was passionate about antiques and opened The Emporium in Chipping Norton in 1989 with his wife Joy. The shop closed in 1999 and Mr Barker died in 2005.

The Wetherspoons chain is renowned for selling the cheapest pints and drinkers in the city centre can also visit the Wetherspoons-owned Swan & Castle in Castle Street.

The Four Candles has a 3.5 out of five rating on customer reviews site Tripadvisor.

One drinker who visited earlier this month wrote: “We visited on Saturday night for food and drinks. Everything was ordered on the app. Really quick service despite the pub being busy. The food was good. Highly recommend.”

Another added: “We really enjoyed our visit. Thursday is curry night special and the food was served quickly and piping hot.

“Delicious curry, samosas, naan bread and fragrant rice. The beer is very cheap and delicious.

“Friendly staff. A busy but convivial atmosphere and no loud music, an extra bonus.”