1754-1891

Four names later...

There are references to the pub since at least the sixteenth century. Over the centuries it has changed names several times having been recorded as ‘The Flag’, ‘The Hen & Chicken’, ‘The Black Horse’, and ‘The Sportsman’s Arms’ before finally ending up as ‘The Fox & Hounds’. The first licensee recorded is a Thomas Baylye some time prior to 1561 and since then various licensees have had the site:

1754 Richard Shaw/John Harrison
1767/1768 Thomas Price
1777/1778 Thomas Johnson/William Owen
1754 Richard Shaw/John Harrison
1767/1768 Thomas Price
1777/1778 Thomas Johnson/William Owen
1785/1799 Richard Piercy
1822 John Youds 'The Flag'
1823 John Youds 'Hen & Chicken'
1824/1828 Stanley Youds 'Black Horse'
1848 John Stubbs (Owner Hugh Lowe per. Tithe Apportionment)
1891 John Gertrey 'Sportsman's Arms'

The pub is recorded as the ‘Black Horse’ on Bryants’ map in 1830. By 1891 it was known as the ‘Sportsman’s Arms’ and was in the hands of the Gertrey family, with John Gertrey listed as the licensee. It was described as having ‘One bed for travellers, accommodation and refreshment for ten. Stables two.’ ‘A modest house, fair accommodation, refreshments other than drink frequently supplied’. It is likely that the original reason for a pub being in that location was to supply an extra horse or horses to assist loads being taken down into and up from Barnston Dale ("the dip").

Historical contributions from www.barnstonvillage.info

1900

"The dip"

The road running past the Fox and down into the dale was much narrower, with only room for a horse and cart, nowadays it has been widened and surfaced to allow for the passage in both directions of modern traffic, but was described in historic records as ‘a delightfully uneven roadway, a source of tribulation alike to horse and passenger’.

1911

The current Fox & Hounds was built

The present pub was built on the site about 1911 featuring lots of stunning Edwardian features and the Fox & Hounds was born. Thankfully the previous owners of the Fox and ourselves avoided the craze of stripping out the interior and original features of the pub, and it appears now very much how it would have 100 years ago. Ralph Leech was instrumental in creating the institution that is “the Fox” and creating the success that the pub enjoys today. Having been licensee there for over 30 years adding to the pubs long and illustrious history. Its cosy and welcoming atmosphere has maintained its popularity since its doors opened over 100 years ago.

1944-1967

The Millington Family

Mrs Millington was the licensee of the Fox & Hounds post the second world war and remained at the helm until the late 60s.

1984

The Fox came to rest in our hands

Stange & Co. acquired the Fox in 1984, and made a few sympathetic improvements, converting some of the ground floor private accommodation and tea room into the lounge bar. We also created the car park out of the pub’s private garden, which took the lottery out of parking in the rear yard, accessed from the left hand side of the pub, can you imagine trying to back out onto Barnston Road today with the volume of traffic that passes by?

2018

Time for a refresh

The Fox has always been cosy in nature with many remembering the lounge and snug being exactly just that where you could easily borrow the salt and pepper off the table next to you! We felt as our food offering and popularity grew we needed to make some more space in the old girl as well as build a much bigger commercial kitchen so it was time to give her a bit of an overhaul.

We didn't want to detract from the charm of the Fox and tried to maintain many of the original features especially in the lounge and bar but open up the whole pub so that it had more of a flow to it with a little more space. The addition of the bright and airy conservatory and the garden room created two new roomy areas for our diners and drinkers to enjoy.

Take a look at our GALLERY to see what she looks like now.