Fox And Hounds Public House Opposite The Post Office

The Fox and Hounds Public House, located opposite the Post Office in Hunsdon village, is a building that dates back to the 17th century, with alterations and a rebuilt eastern range from the early 18th century. The windows were modified in the early 19th century, and a single-storey extension was added to the southeast in the later 19th century. This large, L-shaped structure has two storeys and attics, featuring a timber-framed and plastered exterior that faces north. It has a steep old red tiled roof, gabled on the west side and hipped on the east. The southeast extension is made of grey brick and has parallel hipped slate roofs.

At the rear, there is a stair tower positioned at the angle of the wings, aligned with the large central chimney of the front range. The north front has a formal arrangement of three windows, complemented by two flat-topped dormers with sash windows. The eaves are coved, and the windows have plain margins, flush sashes with moulded architraves, and 6/6 panes. The central half-glazed door is framed by a moulded architrave, a swelled frieze, and a cornice supported by two slender Tuscan columns on high plinths, along with two half-column responds. The ground floor features triple sash windows with a combination of 2/2, 6/6, and 2/2 panes. To the right, there is a bar door set within a moulded doorcase topped by a flat hood on shaped brackets.

The symmetrical east front facing the garden has similar sash windows with 6/6 panes and a central door. The southeast brick extension includes segmental arches and sash windows with margin lights. Inside, the main ground floor rooms boast an early 18th-century cornice and a notable bolection moulded marble fire surround, which may be a reused feature from elsewhere. The 19th-century sash windows have moulded panelled shutters incorporated within the internal architrave.

Historically, this site was known as Hykmans, a freehold in 1532, and served as a doctor's house before becoming a public house in the 1830s when the landowner demolished another pub. The Tithe Award of 1843 was signed at a meeting held at the Fox and Hounds. This large 17th-century timber-framed plastered house, with its prominent early 18th-century cross wing and notable features, is part of a picturesque group within the village Conservation Area.