Our story
the Bull Inn, Charlbury

Pack Taverns' story

The Pack Taverns story began in 2015 when Charlie and Willow Crossley bought the 16th century Bull Inn in Charlbury. Their vision was to create a pub that was a 'home away from home’ and, as instinctive homemakers themselves with an innate eye for design, style and comfort, that original vision has definitely been realised.

The Bull has become a place where guests can instantly relax into the homely unpretentious atmosphere - like being at home, but rather better as it offers the understated luxury and comfort of a top quality hotel. You will find local and delicious food on the menu and the eight bedrooms designed by irrepressibly creative author, interior and floral stylist, Willow, are all different; each one beautiful in its own original, quirky and elegant way; each with an ensuite bathroom.

The renovation respected the Bull Inn’s historic character and layout. It has been lovingly nurtured back to life with careful attention paid to the intrinsic qualities and quirks of this ancient building. Attention to detail is crucial at the Bull, exemplified by Willow’s signature style of relaxed, colour filled spaces. In each bedroom, our supremely comfortable beds have boldly upholstered bespoke headboards; windows have generous curtains in unusual designer fabrics; the bed linen is top quality, piled with luxurious pillows and throws that emphasise our signature focus on home comforts. And when it comes to food, we offer a menu of lovingly prepared dishes, as local and seasonal as possible that we hope appeals to a wide range of tastes and appetites.

Welcome to The Bull Inn

Our hope is to create a home away from home for all who visit – we want to make you feel welcome and indulged; for you to settle in for the whole of your stay, no matter how long you are with us. We welcome everybody! - couples, families, children and dogs.

We have eight bedrooms, four in the main pub and another four in the Bull Barn. The Bull barn adjoins the main building and is next to our beautiful open garden which is a great sun-trap and perfect for whiling away long lunches or evening drinks. We also have an outdoor bar in the garden which will soon be transformed into our Pizza shack, serving takeaways on a Tuesday night and serving the garden on the weekends.

Eating at The Bull Inn

At the Bull we specialise in simple but special, seasonal but well sourced food.  Our food is designed to be accessible and enjoyed, a taste of what we like to cook and what we like to eat.  We try to keep our menus as balanced as possible, so you can pop into your local inn for a quite lunch with family or friends or to enjoy a leisurely treat.  Hopefully a blend of what the heart wants and the head allows.

We like to use as many local suppliers as possible, in fact you can’t get more local than our venison, which is from Cornbury, a stone’s throw away.

Of course our fish supply cannot be so local, but it is delivered fresh from Brixham everyday.

Details of all our suppliers you will find on our EAT page.

The Team

We are fortunate enough to have a great team at The Bull with the same core group working all year round and the same group of part timers returning each holiday season.

Charlie
 
Charlie’s two main passions in life are his family and hosting a great party.  After years of working in the property sector and a very successful career break making delicious rose, all Charlie could ever think about was running pubs.  He had transformed the Hollywood Arms, which remains a nearly as great pub in the heart of Fulham, why not try it in the Cotswolds.  And so he did.  With his bear hands he transformed a pub that was beyond tired and hard to find open into one of the prettiest pubs you will ever see.
 
As the vines have grown over the various garden structures and the pub has negotiated its way through where others have fallen, Charlie’s two main passions have remained the same, he has just managed to find somewhere to unite them.  He loves and is dedicated to food and booze, and continues to feed that passion to staff, customers and suppliers whether they like it or not.  As long as the welcome is warm, the drinks are cold and the food is good, Charlie will be your host, and you will be lucky to be in his pub.
Dom
 
After training in London and Sydney with stints at a number of pubs and restaurants including The Sands End, The Pig and Butcher, Galvin at Windows in London, and Assiette & Bistrode in Sydney working alongside Michelin star chefs, Dominic moved to the Cotswolds to start a family and settle for a quieter life.
 
Instead, he joined Charlie in opening the Bull in 2015.  After nearly 2 years, Dominic left to work across number of businesses for the Lucky Onion, and set out to broaden his experience beyond the kitchen.  After his odyssey across the Cotswold hospitality industry, Dominic has come back in his words from his self imposed sabbatical to be reunited with the team at the Bull.  Working across the business, helping Charlie to drive all aspects of food, beverage and the warm welcome that characterises The Bull into it's next chapter, he is home.

 

Tom is our Head Chef.

Tom has worked at a variety of places in his career, ranging from large hotels to small boutique restaurants with three rosettes. Tom has a classical training and  an interest in modern British cuisine ; he  shares  our concept of  elevating classic pub dishes into something great /creating great elevated pub dishes. We are delighted  that Tom has been joined by his Sous Chef, Ash Clare.  Ash has worked at many high standard restaurants and pubs and brings his excitement and knowledge with him to the kitchen

For Inspirations, Special Offers and More:

Contact Us

  • The Bull Inn
    Sheep St
    Chipping Norton OX7 3RR
    Charlbury
    This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
    Tel: 01608810689


Registered Address:
Pack Taverns Limited, C/N: 09575656, Bull Inn, Charlbury, OX7 3RR