IT IS one of Oxford’s best-known pubs, but in recent years The Jolly Postboys in Florence Park had fallen on hard times.

Now the boozer is back with a bang under a new management team.

With a mission of bringing good British beer and food to punters in a welcoming community setting, Drew Brammer, George Harwood-Dallyn and their team are confident of success.

The pub has been transformed inside and out and Mr Harwood-Dallyn said things have got off to a flying start since it opened its doors under new ownership on September 6.

He said: “It has been going pretty exceptionally, it has been absolutely incredible.

“We have been very well received by the community and there have been high expectations because everybody is so pleased we have opened.”

The pub’s freehold is still owned by brewery Greene King but is independently run, while paying a tenancy fee.

This agreement, which allows the pub to be free from ties to a brewery and to buy and sell whatever beers it wants to, is believed to be unique.

Mr Harwood-Dallyn said: “Pubs are few and far between in terms of being free of tie.

“OX4 is a community Drew and I are already familiar with.

“Our message is simple, it is providing a nice pub for people to enjoy with good food and good beer and a friendly community environment. We want it to be a good family pub, which is what pubs used to be.”

The Jolly Postboys was opened in the 1930s but had not been refurbished in many years and had seen its popularity decline.

Mr Harwood-Dallyn said it now had a more continental feel with minimalist decor and brass and copper fittings.

The food menu now includes sharing plates and there are 10 beer taps –six for keg and four for cask beers as well as a refurbished outside area.

He added: “I think we have really turned the pub on its head and made it welcoming to everybody and created a lively character and environment. 

“Of course all the old regulars are still welcome here too.”