The Falkland Arms, Great Tew
Named for a Civil War viscount, this partly thatched ironstone pub has been pouring pints in Great Tew since the 17th century.
The Falkland Arms sits at the heart of Great Tew, one of the most complete and picturesque estate villages in Oxfordshire, in a partly thatched building of local honey-coloured ironstone dating from the late seventeenth century. It takes its name from Lucius Cary, the 2nd Viscount Falkland, whose family coat of arms still hangs on the inn sign outside. Inside, old flagstone floors, an inglenook fireplace, scrubbed oak tables and a ceiling hung with a collection of old beer mugs and jugs make it one of the most atmospheric village pubs in the Cotswolds.
At a Glance
| Location | Great Tew, north Oxfordshire |
| Type | Partly thatched 17th-century village pub |
| Known for | Its inglenook fireplace, collection of beer mugs and jugs, and namesake Viscount Falkland |
| Nearest towns | Chipping Norton, Great Tew |
A Village Saved from Decay
Great Tew itself has a dramatic history: by the 1970s, the village had been allowed to fall into serious disrepair under its Lord of the Manor, and many of its cottages stood empty and crumbling. It took the intervention of the Department of the Environment in 1978 to save the buildings from dereliction, and the village has since been carefully restored into one of the prettiest in the Cotswolds — with the Falkland Arms as its enduring centrepiece.
A Proper Village Pub
Now owned by Wadworth Brewery, the Falkland Arms serves their beers alongside one or two from the local Hook Norton Brewery, in a room that has changed remarkably little in character over the centuries. It remains, above all, a genuine village local — the kind of pub whose flagstones, fireplace and low beams do most of the talking.
Planning Your Visit
The Falkland Arms is in the centre of Great Tew, Oxfordshire, a short drive from Chipping Norton.
It pairs naturally with our guide to Chipping Norton, which covers Great Tew and the surrounding estate villages.
Where to Stay Nearby
Great Tew’s position close to Chipping Norton puts it within easy reach of several of our north Cotswolds properties. For a fuller sense of what is available nearby, our full portfolio of Cotswold properties can be filtered by location.
However you choose to base yourselves, our concierge team can arrange a visit to the Falkland Arms as part of a day exploring Great Tew.
In Short
The Falkland Arms is Great Tew in miniature: a genuinely historic building, carefully preserved rather than polished into something new, and still doing exactly what it was built to do.
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