Hidden Gems of Leicestershire

by Barry Lount, photos by Karen Hobson

Fox & Goose, Illston On The Hill

This Classic two roomed village pub sits in the southeast Leicester village of Illston on the Hill. Illston once boasted two pubs. The other, The Sun, is long gone. The Fox & Goose remains all that our ideas of a ‘local’ should be, relatively unchanged for many years although it has gone though some ‘modernisation’ in the 1950’s and more recently a decade ago.
 

On entering this welcoming inn, the customer is instantly drawn to the diverse array of artefacts adorning the walls. Most of them left by the previous landlord Jack Scott, a character and collector of bizarre items ranging from mundane farming implements to animal traps, from taxidermy including foxes, badgers, a stags head and, most gruesome, a domestic dog's head.
 

The intimate bar is atmospheric and the tiny back room bar reminiscent of pubs of yesteryear.
 

The Fox & Goose name is rarely seen nowadays, although once a popular pub name - there was a Fox & Goose at nearby Great Glen. This friendly ex Ruddles local has been owned by Everards since 1978 and has apparently been licensed since Georgian times. It certainly reminds us of a bygone age. Many thanks to Licensee, George Bullers for his hospitality.
 

Bar with early Victorian furniture.                                     Gruesome dog's head.

       
Back Bar complete with Fox on piano.                             Stoatly different or weasily recognisable.               

   
Original wall plaque from Ruddles.                            Lalique style Light shades from a Liner.

A cosy atmosphere welcomes you as you enter the pub.

This page last updated: May 28, 2008

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