History of the Royal Oak
Records show the pub was first established in 1807. At that time it sat amongst a jumble of victorian streets, just off the recently opened New Road (now known as the A501.) A local victualler (an offie to you and me) Richard Bass took ownership of the pub and it stayed in his family until 1835.
The following 5 years saw it change licensee a couple of times before the 1841 census showed it had come into ownership of James Tilling. He moved in with his wife, 8 children and various servants. A dairyman by trade, the publican life wasn’t for James – a threat of a duel was enough to scare him off and by 1844 he had moved to Hendon.
The next landlord, Edward Hodges, welcomed triplets to The Royal Oak but again the tenancy didn’t last long and soon was passed to William Bathe. A family of publicans, William owned the Royal for 10 years before the Murrell family took it on where it stayed until the turn of the century.
New owners came and went, with the place being rebuilt to its present form in 1910. The name changed for a few years, but returned to The Royal Oak in 2014 and Andy took on the lease in 2018.
In its 200 years existence, it has remained a pillar of the Marylebone community. We are proud to hold the mantle and will keep serving for many years to come!