The Crown – Warm and inviting in the heart of the historic Oxfordshire village of Benson

In the heart of the historic Oxfordshire village of Benson lies The Crown – a characterful 17th century, Grade II listed, former coaching inn and our room for the night last weekend.

Warm and inviting, the upmarket Crown boasts a fabulous bar and restaurant, along with six swish rooms, offering the perfect base for cosy, country winter getaways. It is a super choice for families, walkers, cyclists and those visiting from further afield.

So, on a cold November Saturday evening we arrived. Passing a pretty courtyard and lawned beer garden, both no doubt perfect for the summer months, we entered the bar – an open log fire swiftly warming us up from the chill. Friendly bar staff immediately poured some much-needed refreshments. We found a snug corner and enjoyed watching England on a discreet screen, whilst fellow civilised guests also relaxed in the atmospheric bar to watch the rugby.

We learned the bar offers a recently awarded a 5* Cask Marque and serves the full range of award-winning Hook Norton Brewery draught ales. We took in the beautiful setting, with its original exposed oak beams, mismatched country chic furnishings, William Morris fabrics, elegant glass wall lights and soft palette of Farrow & Ball’s Mahogany and Mouses Back. Game finished, we made our way to the invitingly lit dining space, which also had its own log fire, adding both warmth and ambience.

The Crown’s à la carte menus offer elevated British classics with French and Italian touches, champion the best fresh produce delivered daily by local suppliers. Dishes are all freshly prepared to order and include vegetarian options with every course. We were told the pub’s Sunday roasts are also very popular, particularly with families and larger groups.

We started with rustic bread with the best accompaniments – confit garlic, salted butter, balsamic glaze and olive oil. Sharing a duck liver and orange pate, with homemade chutney and sourdough toast was then a good tactic, to truly have room to enjoy our mains. The starter of salt and pepper squid with homemade sweet chilli sauce did however sound very tempting.

My main of pan-seared fillet of salmon on a bed of sweet potato mash and seafood velouté with seasonal greens was perfectly prepared and my other’s half’s 8oz Sirloin steak with portobello mushroom, tomato and chunky chips was cooked to his exact taste.

Sated and sleepy, we retired upstairs – finding our comfortable double room boasted modern and vintage furnishings and fabric, including a velvet headboard and snuggly throws. On the walls hung, fun, modern artwork. Best of all was the freestanding rolltop bath and luxury rain showers. All rooms feature flatscreen TV, free WIFI, tea and coffee making facilities, fridge, iron, desk and complimentary toiletries.

The Crown at Benson is run by experienced hospitality operator and industry stalwart, John Thirlway, who took over this historic hostelry in 2024, and works hard to maintain its long-held reputation as a renowned community hub and destination pub with rooms.

We caught up with John to find out more about The Crown

We understand The Crown is an old coaching inn. When does it date back to?  The building was finished in 1709 and was used as a coaching house and Inn.

What kind of regulars do you have now in the pub and restaurant?  We have a lovely mix of locals from Benson who can trace their family history back generations. They have great stories to share about growing up in this close-knit community, and even back to when Benson had 7-8+ pubs, ale houses and even a night club. We have international guests who stay and follow the Thames path walk and hunt down all of the local ‘Midsomer Murders’ location sites in the area. Businesspeople who are looking for a comfortable and reasonably priced room for a few nights and of course parents and family of the RAF staff as The Crown is only a mile from the RAF Benson airbase.

We see you are part of the Hook Norton family. Is there a bestselling ale?  They have a great selection of ales, and we are very lucky to be a tenant for them. At present we are selling ‘Off the Hook’, which is an all year round, slightly lighter ale/IPA. We’re currently seeing a slow transition over to the darker Ales like Old Hooky and Hooky Best. In the next few weeks, we will get in their double stout to help keep the winter chills away.

We love the menu that has lots of home comfort foods. What was the inspiration behind that?  We like to have nice mix of traditional and modern dishes on offer. The menu changes seasonally, so we can take advantage of change in seasonally relevant veg, locally sourced meats and game. We do, however, like to keep our fantastic burger and pies on the menu, as they suit just about all tastes and are very hearty and warming.

When were the rooms renovated?  The uplift of the rooms took place in 2020, maybe slightly earlier, basically the cam hanger took place after Covid to enhance the property and to help us gain more exposure with a more diverse market.

What was the design inspiration?  Bright, clean and happy rooms to make our guests feel comfortable in a home-from-home environment.

What does The Crown have planned for the Christmas period?  We have live music in the Marquee on 23rd, 24th and 31st of December. All the details will be on our social media, including timings and act details.

We see The Crown will soon be taking over local favourite the Chequers at Berrick Salome. What are your plans for the pub?  We want the difference between the two pubs to be memorable and measurable. The Crown Inn is located in a busy village and we love being there and having the locals join us for live music, great food, family events and all of the pop-up events we host there. The Crown Inn is the tick all boxes fun family entertainment environment we want to have in the area.

The Chequers is slightly more serious about its food offering and is what we want to create in the local area. It lends itself to a more intimate dining experience but lies not far from Benson. We have a head chef with a Michelin star and AA Rosette background, and we want to take advantage of his experience in the kitchen and our experience front of house to give our patrons a completely different experience, from the decor and styling to the food and wine selection, and not forgetting the Brakspear Ales we have on the bar.

By Leila Stocker

Images Leila Stocker

Room rates and facilities

Rooms from £109 per night on a B&B basis for two people. A continental breakfast is served Monday to Friday and cooked options on Saturdays and Sundays. For families with children, cots are available on request. Dogs £15 extra per dog per night.

The Crown, 52 High Street, Benson, Wallingford, Oxfordshire OX10 6RP

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