The present pub was built in the 1930s on the site of an earlier one (opened 1880), probably for Ind Coope. Sold as a Banks’s pub and converted into a Chinese restaurant in 2009; the old lounge (the library) area became a cocktail bar with red seats and purple walls; the larger former bar the dining area. Closed 'for refurbishment' at the end of 2015 and open sporadically in early 2017 but closed again. There was a proposal (March 2018) to covert to a 'cafe and Islamic Education Centre' but a local community group fought to save the pub and it is now open under the Dodo Pub Co. Originally called Somerset House from the legend that General Fairfax stayed in a house of that name when the Parliamentary troops were quartered on Headington Hill during the third siege of Oxford in 1646. Food offering is burgers and pizzas (including GF bases option)