The Royal Oak Inn

Lunch in Chester today at the Bar Lounge with my cousin and his wife who I have not seen for 13 years.  The Bar Lounge was formerly the Axe Tavern where I had many a lunchtime drink in the 70's!  My blip today should have been the Bar Lounge but I forgot so here we have a former inn opposite where we catch the bus from.

In the mid/late 1500's a inn by the name of "The Sign of the Crow" stood here.  By 1703 the name had changed to "The Royal Oak".  The inn was rebuilt in 1920 but closed for trade in the 1980's, and has subsequently been used for retail ever since.  It now awaits a new occupier.

For some more interesting history of this inn The Royal Oak and lots of other history of Chester check out Steve Howe's great site at www.chesterwalls.info