# The Oxford Bar

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Building in Edinburgh, Scotland

The Oxford Bar Interactive map of the The Oxford Bar area General information Location Edinburgh, Scotland Coordinates 55°57′10.61″N 03°12′19.82″W / 55.9529472°N 3.2055056°W / 55.9529472; -3.2055056 Opened 1811 Website oxfordbar.co.uk Listed Building – Category B Official name 8 and 8A Young Street, the Oxford Bar, and 2 Young Street Lane South[1] Designated 3 March 1966; 60 years ago (1966-03-03)[1] Reference no. LB40820[1]

**The Oxford Bar** is a [public house](/source/Public_house) situated on Young Street, in the [New Town](/source/New_Town%2C_Edinburgh) of [Edinburgh](/source/Edinburgh), [Scotland](/source/Scotland). The pub is notable for having been featured in [Sir Ian Rankin](/source/Ian_Rankin)'s [Inspector Rebus](/source/Inspector_Rebus) series of novels and its adaptations, in which it is protagonist [John Rebus](/source/John_Rebus)' favourite pub. It is a Category B listed building.[1][2]

## History

The Oxford Bar apparently became a public house in 1811, although it was a confectioner's shop in 1843.[1] It was [disponed](/source/Disposition_(Scots_law)) on 30 October 1893 to Andrew Wilson, wines and spirits merchant, and thereafter remained a public bar.

The Oxford Bar retains its original compartmentalised form, which many other local bars have lost. Originally consisting of a central corridor with rooms to right and left, the corridor has been opened up to the left with an archway into the small stand-up bar but the original form is still clear.[1]

## Patrons

Several Scottish writers and artists are known to have been patrons of the Oxford Bar, including [Sydney Goodsir Smith](/source/Sydney_Goodsir_Smith), Willie Ross and [Sir Ian Rankin](/source/Sir_Ian_Rankin). The pub was first immortalised in Smith's *Carotid Cornucopius*; Rankin later chose it as Rebus' pub as many police officers used to drink there.[3]. In *Dirty Work: Ian Rankin and John Rebus Book-By-Book*, Ray Dexter and Nadine Carr note that The Oxford Bar would be an improbable local for Rebus due to its geographical location.[4][*[self-published source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability#Self-published_sources)*]

Other visitors to the bar have included actor [Sir Sean Connery](/source/Sean_Connery) and author [Colin Dexter](/source/Colin_Dexter).[5] [Sir Michael Palin](/source/Michael_Palin) visited in 1978 and mentions being impressed by it in his diary, *The Python Years*.

[Quintin Jardine](/source/Quintin_Jardine)'s 2009 Bob Skinner novel, *Fatal Last Words*, also mentions The Oxford Bar considerably, again due to the connection with the local police force drinking there. There are a few other nods to Rankin too.

In August 2024, television presenter [Lorraine Kelly](/source/Lorraine_Kelly)'s visit made local headlines.[6][7]

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-HES_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-HES_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-HES_1-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-HES_1-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-HES_1-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-HES_1-5) [Historic Environment Scotland](/source/Historic_Environment_Scotland). ["8 and 8A Young Street, the Oxford Bar, and 2 Young Street Lane South (Category B Listed Building LB30005)"](https://www.trove.scot/designation/LB30005). Retrieved 16 July 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Slaughter_2-0)** Slaughter, Michael (2007). *Scotland's true heritage pubs*. St. Albans: CAMRA. p. 49. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9781852492427](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781852492427).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Diski, Chloe (13 June 2004). ["My favourite pub"](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2004/jun/13/foodanddrink.features2). London: The Observer. Retrieved 16 June 2009.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-DexterCarr2015_4-0)** Ray Dexter; Nadine Carr (18 September 2015). [*Dirty Work: Ian Rankin and John Rebus Book-By-Book*](https://books.google.com/books?id=t4euCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA144). Lulu.com. p. 144. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-326-41521-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-326-41521-1).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["John Gates: Former landlord of the Oxford Bar, Edinburgh"](http://www.scotsman.com/obituaries/John-Gates.4503021.jp). The Scotsman. 18 September 2008. Retrieved 16 June 2009.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Borland, Ben (22 August 2024). ["Oxford Bar: From Rebus to Lorraine Kelly, the story of Edinburgh's 'proper pub'"](https://www.scottishdailyexpress.co.uk/celebrity-news/oxford-bar-inspector-rebus-lorraine-33516374). *Scottish Daily Express*. Retrieved 24 November 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["The Oxford Bar – What's happened?"](https://edinburghpubreviews.substack.com/p/oxford-bar-repost). *Edinburgh Pub Reviews*. 30 October 2024. Retrieved 24 November 2024.

## External links

- [The Oxford Bar at Edinburgh Pub Guide](http://www.edinburghpubguide.co.uk/PubDetails/Oxford_Bar_118.html)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [The Oxford Bar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Oxford_Bar) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Oxford_Bar?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.