The Eagle and Child

Interesting topic, this. Lalwende will know that the original Eagle and Child is in Lancashire (in a tiny village called Bispham Green) and, as it happens to be my local and opposite the house where I grew up, I've done some research into its history.

The pub has been there since the early 18th Century, although the current building is much later. Most interestingly, the village of Bispham Green was originally called "Derby", though it bears very little resemblance to the town of the same name. What is now the car park of the Eagle and Child was, until very early in the 19th Century, the main square of the village, and known as Derby Square. All of the original buildings are now gone, with the exception of the barn, built in the 1820s. The village was renamed at about that time when the village green was established as common land - it seems the name was chosen for no other reason than that the neighbouring village is called Bispham. Lord Derby built houses in the new village, and they're really fine examples of Georgian architecture.

The name The Eagle and Child quickly spread (there are many pubs with the same name across Lancashire) and, as Lord Derby's influence spread across the country, so did the name. It would be interesting to know what links Lord Derby has with Oxford.

And with that, I'm off to prepare for a long days drinking in the aforementioned public house tomorrow