The Jolly Farmers

The Jolly Farmers was opened in October 1983 by landlords Alan and Graham, former regulars of The Red Lion. It has remained gay-owned ever since and is one of the oldest established LGBTIQA+ pubs in the UK. The Jolly Farmers has helped support Oxford Pride, and continues to host queer events and serve as an LGBTIQA+ space. One of the Tales of our City participants reflects on social changes during the time the Farmers has been around:

“It just seems incredible now that young people would just walk in The Jolly Farmers just like that and think nothing of it. They wouldn’t look around to see if anybody was watching them going in the door. It’s marvellous.”