The Hen & Chicken Public House

The Hen & Chickens

At the beginning of the 18th century there were few proper roads. There were two tracks from Holybourne to Bentley, the upper track used in winter, through Froyle past the Church, and the lower track nearer the river used in summer. As stage coaches and road waggons were coming more into use, it was necessary to construct a proper road, and so Froyle was by-passed. An old directory, about 1730, gives the route Alton, Holybourne, Bentley, leaving out Froyle, so the road must have been completed before that date. Even the present main road is not, in several places, on the exact original. From near the Hen & Chicken to Quarry Bottom, traces of the original can be seen inside the park wall, and the place where the stream was forded, before there was a bridge, can easily be traced. Probably the wall was not there in 1730, as it is supposed that French prisoners built it in the time of Napoleon.

The Hen & Chicken was built about 1740 as a Chaise House where people met the Stage Coaches. For some considerable time it was called the "Hen & Chickens" - closer examination of the photograph will reveal this on the sign at the centre of the frame. The cottages known as Turnpike Cottages were originally the Hen & Chicken stables.

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