ONE of Oxford’s best-known pubs will call time for three months while it undergoes a major revamp.

The Perch in Binsey, once a favourite haunt of Lewis Carroll and CS Lewis, will have a new 60-seat dining area and the bar will be moved to the centre of the pub.

Other changes include new kitchens, disabled toilets and baby-changing facilities.

The dining terrace and gardens will also be given a facelift.

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General manager Martin Cooper said the building work would cost “several hundred thousand pounds”.

He said: “We want to be respectful to the heritage and the building but we need to bring it into the modern era so that we can welcome all customers.

“Although there will be a bigger dining area, people will still be free to sit by the fire with a pie and a pint.”

The thatched Grade-II listed, 17th-century pub – a favourite with walkers and cyclists on the Thames path – will close in January and reopen in March next year.

Jon Ellse, who owns Summertown restaurants Portabello and Mamma Mia, bought it a year ago and pledged to restore it to its former glory.

Mr Cooper added: “The feel and character of the place will be the same and we won’t encroach on the garden, as we know that’s a part of this place people love.

“We’re not going to stick some ugly structure on the back, everything being done is in keeping with the original building. The place had become a bit neglected and we are trying to bring back the shine to it.

“But it’s business as usual for now, until we close in January.”

The Perch has battled a number of setbacks, including when it was flooded earlier this year.

In 2007, it was badly damaged by fire, after a faulty chimney flue set alight the thatched roof.

The blaze was said to have been caused by a fault in the lining of the fireplace.

It took only 20 minutes for the pub to be destroyed and 18 months for it to be rebuilt.

At the start of last month The Perch held a weekend festival to draw in punters, including a hog roast and performances from musicians.

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