You will all be sad to learn that the Vaults & Garden in Radcliffe Square will close for good on Wednesday, 26th November, so please visit before if you can.

The good news is that a new smaller cafe will open close by at 2 King Edward Street just across the High Street from Radcliffe Square the following day

The new cafe will offer the same breakfast, lunch and tea-time menus, including the famous scones, and will continue with the same traditions and ethos.

In a statement to The Oxford Student, founder Will Pouget said: “The Vaults & Garden has consumed my life over the past 22 years. I ran the cafe hands on this time and put everything I had into it.”

The closure follows a long legal battle with the vicar of the University church, the Revd Will Lamb, who issued a three-month notice to quit to the cafe more than two years ago. The eviction notice led to legal proceedings which have cost the cafe £200,000.

The Oxford Student reported that the failure of a CrowdJustice campaign to raise £100,000 towards the cafe’s legal costs had caused the cafe to come to an agreement to settle the dispute. The campaign raised £18,519 from 385 donors.

Previously, the church has announced that it intends to spend £750,000 on refurbishment works and re-open the cafe as a social enterprise run by the church.

Will Pouget said: “We are relieved to put this long-standing dispute behind us and concentrate our full attention and energy on hosting our customers.”

We sure all of you will be very sorry that our petition, which has attracted nearly 16,000 supporters and drawn many adverse comments about the action taken by the church, has not succeeded and we urge you to support Will Pouget’s new venture at 2 King Edward Street.

Thank you all once again.

team@savethevaults.com