The Greyhound is the oldest Inn in Great Glen and is a Grade II listed building. The building is largely 18th century although parts do date back to the earlier 16th century timber building. It therefore boasts that it is a 400 year old Coaching Inn. It probably began life as an Ale House but came into prominence in the mid 1700′s when it was developed to cater for regular stage coaches (introduce
d in 1760) and mail coaches (from 1785) that were being introduced all over England. The A6 which runs in front of The Greyhound was a very busy road with coaches coming from London linking Dunstable, Market Harborough, Leicester, Nottingham and further north. The gates to the right of the building led to outbuildings which included stables for the horses and a blacksmith’s workshop. During the latter part of the 19th century the blacksmiths were two brothers whose surname was Allen and in the early 20th century the Allens moved the forge to High Street. With the advent of the railways, and the consequent demise of stage and mail coaches, the fortunes of The Greyhound declined in the late 19th century. However, the Inn has remained as a popular drinking establishment for the villagers of Great Glen and beyond. The restaurant was added in the 1970s and the stables were converted to seven bedrooms during the 1990s. It is now a “free house” and an extension to the restaurant has been recently added. The name of The Greyhound comes about because the Lords of the Manor from 1553 until about 1642 were members of the Nele (or Neale) family. John Nele had three greyhounds’ heads incorporated into his Coat of Arms. The Greyhound and nearby area was subject to much flooding until the 1980s when extensive improvements were made to the River Sence drainage. For many years the Fernie Hunt met on a small field in front of The Greyhound until 1919 when the then Lord of the Manor, Colonel E.C.Packe, before leaving with his regiment for India, gave the land to the village to be converted to the Village Green and War Memorial in honour of the men from the village who died in the 1914-18 war. The Old Greyhound has always enjoyed a good reputation for the quality of its beers. One of its most illustrious landlords were Connie and Charlie Phillips who came to the village in the early 1940s, and although Charlie died in the late 1960s, Connie remained as “Landlady Extraordinaire” for many more years. She used to welcome all visitors – except if they arrived on a motor-bike, or dressed in a leather jacket.
