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General
Barley started as a Bronze Age hill fort on the chalk hills above Royston three thousand years ago. Evidence has also been found for Iron Age farming on the north edge of the village around two thousand one hundred years ago. The Romans also left their mark with signs of occupation and burials to the west of the village.
The name of Barley is Saxon in origin and comes from Beora’s Ley describing a Saxon Lord’s clearing in woodland. In the Domesday Book the village is recorded as Berlei.
The first recorded priest in the village was Alaric the Dane in 1123. A substantial church was built in Norman times and this was incorporated into a redesign by William Butterfield in 1872. The Town House was built around 1530.
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The Fox and Hounds
The Fox and Hounds has been haunted for a number of years by the sound of footsteps. The inn was originally a farmhouse that was converted to an inn in 1797 but was burned down in 1950 when the present building was constructed. The inn is famous for having an inn sign which actually spans the road from the pub. The sign, as would be expected, shows a fox being chased by a pack of hounds.
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