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Picture source: Movement80

The Friar was situated at 2 Old Marston Road. This pub closed c2010, has now been demolished and is due to be replaced by a Tesco store.

Another long-gone pub was the Friar, on the corner of Marston Road and Oxford Road, [described as] “very much an estate pub” run by Swindon brewery Arkell’s. It was knocked down and replaced by a row of shops

Graham Baker, via Oxford Drinker website (August 2022)

Review from tantallon.org.uk:

Arkells 3B Bitter £1.75 Carling Black Label Lager £2.00 Stella Artois Lager £2.20 (15.v.1998) Brick-built pub with stone facings on the corner of Marston Road and Old Marston Road. Suffers from its reputation as a New Marston pub, to some extent unfairly, though on the day I went (a hot day in mid-May) the clientele was almost exclusively male and mostly topless. Very suburban garden out the back with three benches, two swings, a garden shed and one of those rotary things for hanging out washing on with washing on. Does food from 12 to 2 which I haven't tried. The Somerset, a bit further south, is rather more pleasant. (15.v.1998)

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