The Sir Charles Napier Inn (commonly known as the Sir Charles Napier or simply the Charles Napier) is a

gastropub A gastropub or gastro pub is a pub that serves food of high quality, with a nearly equal emphasis on eating and drinking. The term was coined in the 1990s in the United Kingdom. History The term ''gastropub'' (derived from gastronomy) was coi ...

in Spriggs Alley about south of

Chinnor Chinnor is a large village and civil parish in South Oxfordshire, England, about southeast of Thame and close to the border with Buckinghamshire. The village is a spring line settlement on the Icknield Way below the Chiltern escarpment. Sinc ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

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 ...

. It was built in the early 19th century and is named (along with several other English pubs) after General Sir

Charles James Napier General Sir Charles James Napier, ( ; 10 August 178229 August 1853) was an officer and veteran of the British Army's Peninsular and 1812 campaigns, and later a major general of the Bombay Army, during which period he led the British military co ...

(1782-1853). As of 2002 its proprietor for 35 years had been Julie Griffiths.

History

Kaye Griffiths' family had been farmers in Chinnor for two generations. His father bought the pub, which abuts the family's land, in the 1960s for £4,000, and put Kaye's wife, Julie, whose parents had been in the hotel trade, in charge. Initially the cook was Kaye, although he was later replaced with a chef named Batiste from

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

, who remained chef for 19 years. In the middle 1990s Kaye became estranged from Julie, and in 1996 he renovated and moved into a

cowshed Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for the long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for the eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a hi ...

near to the Inn with his son, transferring his interest in the business to his wife. In 2002 Kaye was fined for the renovation and ordered to demolish the cowshed. For 10 years the restaurant was run by Stan Parkes, who was then replaced in 1987 by Caroline, Julie's daughter.

References

External links

Sir Charles Napier Inn
website {{coord, 51, 40, 44, N, 0, 53, 48, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Restaurants in Oxfordshire Gastropubs in England Pubs in Oxfordshire Chinnor