Regret at the loss of an old Thame pub name

Dear Editor – I see the Abingdon Arms, which carried the name from 1830 (See Thame Inns, Discovered by Allan Hickman and David Bretherton, Daal Publishing, 2000) has become the James Figg Free House. The book records James Figg, a champion prize fighter as having used a pub on this site, then called the Greyhound, in the early 18th century.

Good that a local connection remains. Sad, however, that a pub?s name, which goes back 180 years, has been lost (don?t Conservation Area rules apply to pub names then?). And sad too, that the plight of pubs throughout the land has been accelerated, caused I believe, by the total smoking ban which, it was originally proposed, should allow landlords (and customers) some choice.

Norman Brand
Fanshawe Road
Thame