WHEN Phil and Evelyn Roberts achieved their dream of buying an historic West Oxfordshire inn a year ago, they couldn’t wait to get going.

But their plans went up in smoke as two boilers broke within days and they have only just been able to reopen the Shaven Crown Inn, in Shipton-under-Wychwood, after a £600,000 refurbishment.

Now they hope their hard work in transforming the 630-year-old hotel – which once hosted Queen Elizabeth I and wartime fascist leader Oswald Mosley – has paid off, even calling the disruption a “blessing in disguise”.

Mr Roberts, 46, said: “It’s a relief to be trading after a year of not being able to do anything.

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“We had hoped to work through Christmas and then close but it was probably a blessing in disguise because it gave us more time to look at the business and see how we wanted to change it.

“It was frustrating at times, especially when you have a lot of outgoings with no income, but it was the best thing to happen.

“Of course you question yourself because you get the peaks, troughs, euphoria and despair, but we’re glad we did it.”

The inn, valued at £795,000 last year, dates back to 1384 and is believed to be one of the 10 oldest pubs in England.

Mr Roberts, a former operations manager for Compass Group food company, and his 43-year-old wife bought the hotel in October last year and planned to refurbish it after Christmas, closing for up to four months.

But within a few days the boilers broke down and the couple decided to instead close the inn and fully renovate it, eventually reopening last month.

Seven of the eight bedrooms have been refurbished, while a bar at the back of the building has been moved to the front.

Dad-of-two Mr Roberts said: “We haven’t done a great deal to the physical structure of the building but made it a lot more contemporary with regards to the fixings and furniture.

“It’s nice to be part of the history and take it to the next stage.”

The inn was founded by the Cistercian monks of nearby Bruern Abbey and later used as a hunting lodge by Elizabeth I. Sir Oswald Mosley, founder of the British Union of Fascists, or Blackshirts, stayed there under police supervision in 1943 after his release from internment.

Mr Roberts added: “I can’t quite imagine Elizabeth II coming here, but it would be nice to have some people of note to come and dine or stay with us.”

Oldest pubs

NINE other oldest pubs in Britain, according to proven dates compiled by Fatbadgers.co.uk

  • Ye Olde Fighting Cocks – St Albans: 795
  • Bingley Arms – Bardsley, Leeds: 905
  • Eagle & Child – Stow-on-the-Wold: 947
  • Old Ferryboat – Holywell: 1100
  • Skirrid Mountain Inn – Abergavenny, Wales: 1110
  • Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem – Nottingham: 1189
  • Adam & Eve – Norwich: 1249
  • Man & Scythe – Bolton: 1251
  • Clachan Inn – Loch Lomond:  1734


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