Inns 2: Inns and Pubs Still Going Strong

Not all inns at Watling Street were coaching inns: there were far more ordinary wayside public houses where the walking or riding traveller could stop for refreshment. It's nice to see a some that are still going, essentially providing the same function.

The Waggon & Horses looks like a nice place, and says it's being going since 1471, something I'm going to try and follow up. It was before my breakfast time when I passed this one, with nobody around.



  
The Flying Fox (historically The Fox & Hounds) is part-thatched and has this quaint look about it. I stopped there for a decent enough lunch, but I suspect it is not all as old at it tries to look: there was something too contrived about its appearance; the main building is probably 19th century, and the thatched part newer.

By far the most interesting old inn that I stopped at was the Fountain Inn. Considering that this is part of a modern chain (Harvesters) and in the Milton Keynes conurbation, this was a surprising place to find such a charming place. The way it had been adapted over apparently some centuries, then tastefully modernised, keeping many of these features, lent it some authenticity which I didn't find at the Flying Fox. I had had stopped here for breakfast, and one of the kind staff who served me suggested it was 16th century - and I would not demur.

What has surprised me is that this place does not, as far as I can  see, appear in any lists of historic buildings or descriptions of architectural merit. I've been to find a little of its 20th-century story, when apparently it was a spit-and-sawdust place - perhaps why it was passed over by the likes of Pevsner?   I have found 19th century mentions of it, but nothing that enables me to go back further. I will be enquiring further.



The Old Talbot in Potterspury was another surprising find later the same day, mostly because my pre-walk research had indicated I would find a Steakhouse chain here. It has recently been taken under new management, and is now more of traditional (and busy) country pub.  





I stopped at the Crossroads in Weedon, a corner pub incorporating part of an old tollhouse (which I didn't mention under the earlier post on tollhouses). Like the Fountain, it provides dining to modern expectations, but within the context of using authentic internal features. The staff I spoke to had nothing to contribute on the place's history.

The Queens Head is another attractive old pub. I didn't go in this one - once again, wrong time of day when I passed - but I would love to have done, just to go through that front doorway.

And there were very many more attractive historic pubs which are continuing to bring in custom enough to provide a service and pay the bills. I can't list them all.