The Victoria Arms (known locally as the Vicky Arms and formerly as the Ferry Inn) is a

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

on the eastern bank of the

River Cherwell A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of its course if it ru ...

at the end of Mill Lane close to

Old Marston Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...

, northeast of

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. There was once a ford across the Cherwell here, in use since the 12th century. An inn was originally constructed during the 17th century and was then rebuilt in 1840. It was closed in 1958 and bought by the

Oxford Preservation Trust The Oxford Preservation Trust was founded in 1927 to preserve the city of Oxford, England. The Trust seeks to enhance Oxford by encouraging thoughtful development and new design, while protecting historic buildings and green open spaces. The T ...

in 1961. Publicans Fred and Ruby Elkins took over the buildings and operated the pub as a free house. During this time they added extensions to the old buildings. They also operated the small wooden line-ferry across the Cherwell for many years before the opening of the link road. It was later leased to the brewery Wadworth's, refurbished, and reopened in 1986. The pub is frequented by people out punting during the summer. It is possible to moor punts in the grounds of the pub. There was a line-ferry across the river here until 1971, when the Marston Ferry Road was built just to the south. The Victoria Arms featured in the ''

Inspector Morse Endeavour Morse, GM, is the namesake character of the series of "Morse" detective novels by British author Colin Dexter, a Detective Chief Inspector in the Thames Valley Police in Oxford, England. On television he was portrayed by John ...

'' television series a number of times. Most notably,

Morse Morse may refer to: People * Morse (surname) * Morse Goodman (1917-1993), Anglican Bishop of Calgary, Canada * Morse Robb (1902–1992), Canadian inventor and entrepreneur Geography Antarctica * Cape Morse, Wilkes Land * Mount Morse, Churchi ...

recited part of the

A. E. Housman Alfred Edward Housman (; 26 March 1859 – 30 April 1936) was an English classics, classical scholar and poet. He showed early promise as a student at the University of Oxford, but he failed his final examination in ''literae humaniores'' and t ...

poem ''How Clear, How Lovely Bright'' here in the final episode of the series. A line from the poem was used for the title of the episode "

The Remorseful Day ''The Remorseful Day'' is a crime novel by Colin Dexter, the last novel in the Inspector Morse series. The novel was adapted as the final episode in the Inspector Morse television series. Title The title derives from a line in the poem "XVI � ...

References

External links

Victoria Arms website
Pubs in Oxford {{Oxfordshire-struct-stub

See also

References

External links