Our Story
The Fox & Hounds is a 17th-century, Grade II listed pub on Barley's High Street, a short drive from Royston, Cambridge and Saffron Walden. We're a proper village pub with a serious kitchen: a seasonal British menu cooked over charcoal, and a warm welcome for everyone, dogs and children included.
Our History
Our building dates from the mid-17th century, and for most of its life it wasn't the Fox & Hounds at all. It was the Waggon and Horses, one of Barley's village inns. The original Fox & Hounds stood further along the High Street, beneath a sign that stretched right across the road.
In 1955 the old Fox & Hounds was lost to fire. Its famous sign was partly saved and moved here, where it has spanned Church End ever since: a timber gantry topped with silhouettes of huntsmen and hounds chasing a fox. The Waggon and Horses took on the Fox & Hounds name, and the pub and its sign have been Grade II listed since 1968. It's one of only a handful of gallows signs still crossing a road in England.
Legend has it Dick Turpin once drank here, though we can't promise that. The pub reopened in April 2019 after a £1m restoration, and in 2025 we placed 36th in the Good Food Guide's Top 100 Pubs in the UK.
British Produce
Our menu changes with the seasons and mixes pub classics with more progressive dishes, thoughtfully prepared by our kitchen team.
We work with suppliers we know and trust, including Stickleback Fish in Hertfordshire, Wild Fell beef from Huntingdon, The Aurox Meat Company, Accent Fresh and Cambridge Wine Royston, alongside beers from Buntingford Brewery and a regularly changing wine list.
Explore our MenuPrivate Dining & Events
From birthdays to wedding receptions, work dinners to family celebrations, our spaces can host up to 60 seated or 120 standing. Get in touch to talk through dates, menus and the space that suits you best.
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