Fox & Hounds / Old Fox at Coaley, The Street, Coaley, Dursley GL11 5EG

The owner in 1891 and 1903, T.D. Ford, is listed as residing at 121 Nechells Park Road, Birmingham. Quite what Mr Ford had to do with the Fox and Hounds is not known.

Les Thomas e-mailed me in April 2001 with his own reminiscences about the Fox and Hounds. Les was then 80 years old. He wrote:

“The Fox & Hounds was the most important pub in the village. It was not only the headquarters of the local football team, Coaley Rovers, but was also the local fire station all through the war and was manned for 24 hours. They had their own vehicle and hand pump, and did actually put out a fire at a local farm. The room which the firemen and footballers used was originally a stable. The beer in those days was all drawn from the wood, stored in eighteen gallon casks in the cellar, two steps down from the bar. The living room was licensed and used by the ladies as it was not considered proper for them to sit and drink with men at the bar. They mostly drank ‘Gin and it’ (the ‘it’ was a dash of Martini). Whisky was 12/6 a bottle and the Fox & Hounds stocked two cocktails. Green Goddess and Gilby’s odds on.”

Image: Nigel Hammond

Members from the Dursley Sub-branch of CAMRA enjoy their pints in the Fox & Hounds.

The Fox & Hounds closed in 2016 and was purchased by Ellie Sainty, who had already transformed the tired Victoria Inn at Eastington into the wonderful Old Badger and had previously enjoyed great success at the award winning Old Spot in Dursley. Free from the shackles of PubCo tenancy, Ellie soon put her energies into the renamed Old Fox at Coaley, with a full renovation and aesthetic refurbishment taking place before the official re-opening in December 2018.