Originally
built as three small cottages at the end of the 17th Century, The Saxon
Inn has been in the liquor business from a early age. In the 1920’s,
one of the cottage’s owners, Frank Parsons, was a beer retailer, running
a small grocery shop and off-licence where villagers could purchase bottled
Ale to consume at home. Although not a public house, it was said that some
customers could stay and drink the bottled Ale on the premises if no one
was around to see it!
By 1927, the Hart family took over and Beer was 1 1/2d a pint and Whisky
1 1/2d a nip. The off-licence then sold sweets and cigarettes, and was often
frequented by cyclists and walkers during the summer months (a tradition
still seen today). The other two cottages were private homes, with one house
being occupied by evacuees from London during the Second World War.
The three cottages amalgamated and became a pub in 1950, prior to the consent
of several villagers in order to gain its licence. The pub was named The
New Inn and it has been a public house ever since.
During the 1960’s it started serving food to combat the fall in profits
resulting from new drink driving regulations. It was also around this time
that women were remembered to be allowed into the pub without men! In 1965
it changed its name to The Saxon Inn and was eventually sold by the Hart
family to new owners.
Peter and Helen Turner bought the pub in 2003 and now, in 2007 The Saxon
Inn has evolved to meet the challenge of the next era. The pub has been
recently extended and refurbished to incorporate four En-suite bed and breakfast
rooms, more dining areas, catering for functions and increased parking space.
This has succeeded in bringing the pub up-to-date, while still benefiting
the village and keeping its original character, appearance and warmth.
