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 seige of Oxford in 1646. Opens from 9 for breakfast with café vibe in the daytime and in-house coffee shop.