A pub has stood here since at least 1364, and passed into royal hands in 1600 when the pub gained its current name. It was a rambling coaching inn and until 1774 had a frontage onto Cornmarket Street. The present building was the site of the stables and outhouses. William Shakespeare is reputed to have stayed here on several occasions when he visited Oxford. The Crown, a former Morrell’s pub, was the first Nicholson’s pub in Oxford and like the others, offers a good range of real ales, with tasting notes provided, and food is served all day.