16. The Fox and Hounds

The present late 19th-century building, now the Co-operative store, replaced the original Fox and Hounds. This original building was a farmhouse with its own malthouse and the first deeds are from 1824. However, there is a reference to previous ownership by Richard Windmill who purchased it from Richard Rand, who sold the adjoining cottages in 1706. In 1828, the building was converted to a public house known as the 'Fox and Hounds' and was first licensed in 1830. In 1861, Edwin Roberts, of E and H Roberts, purchased 1 acre of land, including the original Fox & Hounds and the building was incorporated into the foundry site and lost amongst the expanding Iron Works buildings. In 1937, the factory site was bought by the Wreschner family and the old Fox and Hounds was used as an Office for the Oxide Works. It was replaced by a new Fox and Hounds on the High Street, only a few yards away. The original Fox and Hounds was demolished in 2003.

In 2015, the new Fox and Hounds was sold and although planned to be a Morrison's store, it was eventually converted into the local Co-operative Food store which trades today.