After leasing the pub to S&N for many years, St John’s College took back this pub in 1999 and, after initially threatening to close it, they began operating it as a free house. The upstairs rooms were converted into student accommodation, and some of the profits from the pub are used to provide bursaries. The pub is in three parts: the oldest at the rear is medieval; the middle section is around 400 years old, and the front part is Georgian. Has literary connections although was not the Lamb & Flag in Thomas Hardy's novel Jude The Obscure - that was actually the Turf Tavern. The management company running the pub collapsed during lockdown and a community interest company, The Inklings Group, has taken on the lease. Much work has taken place and some is still happening. Has 12 keg lines as well as the real ales. No meals but bar snacks all day.