The White Horse Inn, Duns Tew
A 300-year-old coaching inn with its own long-vanished brew-house, still pouring guest ales and cooking from nearby farms every day.
The White Horse has been greeting travellers through the quiet north Oxfordshire village of Duns Tew for around three hundred years, on the eastern edge of the Cotswolds. Its innkeepers are recorded in an unbroken line up to the present day, and the pub once had its own brew-house, run by a resident maltster in the early seventeenth century — the site is now, rather less romantically, the gents’ loo. What survives is a genuine village coaching inn: flagstone floors, original beams, open fires and a bar built around a rotating list of guest ales.
At a Glance
| Location | Duns Tew, north Oxfordshire, on the eastern edge of the Cotswolds |
| Type | 17th-century coaching inn with rooms |
| Known for | Original flagstones, beams and open fires; eleven guest rooms |
| Nearest towns | Chipping Norton, Great Tew, Woodstock |
A Genuine Village Coaching Inn
Duns Tew is a small, unshowy village, and the White Horse remains very much its social centre — the kind of pub where locals and passing travellers share the same bar. Three handpumps serve a changing selection from the Greene King guest beer list, and the building’s original character has been kept rather than polished away: exposed beams, flagstones underfoot, and real fires in the colder months. Eleven guest rooms make it a genuine overnight option as well as a place to eat.
A Kitchen Built Around Nearby Farms
The kitchen’s menu changes daily, built around fresh meat and vegetables from nearby farms rather than a fixed printed card — a straightforward, produce-led approach to pub cooking that suits its setting. Food is served at lunch and again in the evening, seven days a week, in keeping with its long history as a proper working village inn rather than a destination restaurant.
Planning Your Visit
The White Horse Inn is at Daisy Hill, Duns Tew, Oxfordshire, OX25 6JS, a short drive from Chipping Norton, Great Tew and Woodstock.
Where to Stay Nearby
Duns Tew’s position on the eastern edge of the Cotswolds puts it within easy reach of several of our north Oxfordshire 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 table at the White Horse as part of a day exploring north Oxfordshire.
In Short
The White Horse Inn is a genuine, unpretentious village coaching inn rather than a headline destination — which is precisely its appeal: honest daily cooking, well-kept beer and three centuries of history, all still doing exactly what they were built to do.
© Luxury Cotswold Rentals. Images © Luxury Cotswold Rentals, except where copyright remains with the original photographer or creator.
