King's Arms
Encyclopedia
The King's Arms is one of the main student public house
s in Oxford
, England
. It is located in a prominent position on the corner of Parks Road
and Holywell Street
, opposite the New Bodleian Library
building. Also nearby are Broad Street
and the Clarendon Building
, part of Oxford University
. A popular local myth has it that the KA has the highest IQ
per square foot of any pub or bar in the world. It was said that some dons held tutorials in the back bar as late as the 1960s. The pub is owned by Wadham College
, which is located just to the north. Before Wadham reclaimed upper stories of the building in the 1960s, the Kings Arms had been a hotel, once popular with commercial travellers.
Its back bar was, until 1973, not open to women. There was a fire in that year, rumoured to have been started by radical feminists. The bar was temporarily closed, but reopened to both sexes.
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
s in Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is located in a prominent position on the corner of Parks Road
Parks Road
Parks Road is a road in Oxford, England, with several Oxford University colleges along its route. It runs north-south from the Banbury Road and Norham Gardens at the northern end, where it continues into Bradmore Road, to the junction with Broad Street, Holywell Street and Catte Street to the...
and Holywell Street
Holywell Street
Holywell Street is a street in central Oxford, England. It runs east-west with Broad Street to the west and Longwall Street to the east. About half way along, Mansfield Road adjoins to the north.New College dominates the south side of the street...
, opposite the New Bodleian Library
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...
building. Also nearby are Broad Street
Broad Street, Oxford
Broad Street is a wide street in central Oxford, England, located just north of the old city wall.The street is known for its bookshops, including the original Blackwell's bookshop at number 50, located here due to the University...
and the Clarendon Building
Clarendon Building
The Clarendon Building is a landmark Grade I listed building in Oxford, England, owned by the University of Oxford. It was built between 1711 and 1715 to house the Oxford University Press. It stands in the centre of the city in Broad Street, near the Bodleian Library and the Sheldonian Theatre...
, part of Oxford University
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
. A popular local myth has it that the KA has the highest IQ
Intelligence quotient
An intelligence quotient, or IQ, is a score derived from one of several different standardized tests designed to assess intelligence. When modern IQ tests are constructed, the mean score within an age group is set to 100 and the standard deviation to 15...
per square foot of any pub or bar in the world. It was said that some dons held tutorials in the back bar as late as the 1960s. The pub is owned by Wadham College
Wadham College, Oxford
Wadham College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, located at the southern end of Parks Road in central Oxford. It was founded by Nicholas and Dorothy Wadham, wealthy Somerset landowners, during the reign of King James I...
, which is located just to the north. Before Wadham reclaimed upper stories of the building in the 1960s, the Kings Arms had been a hotel, once popular with commercial travellers.
Its back bar was, until 1973, not open to women. There was a fire in that year, rumoured to have been started by radical feminists. The bar was temporarily closed, but reopened to both sexes.