The Fox Goes Free is a grade II listed

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

in Charlton,

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

, England. It is a 17th-century

flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Historically, flint was widely used to make stone tools and start ...

building. On 9 November 1915 the inn was the venue for the first

Women's Institute The Women's Institute (WI) is a community-based organization for women in the United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa and New Zealand. The movement was founded in Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada, by Erland and Janet Lee with Adelaide Hoodless being the ...

(WI) meeting held in England, after the first meeting in Wales on 16 September of that year. This was the inaugural meeting of the Singleton and East Dean WI (still in existence in 2015), and the landlady of the pub, Mrs Laishley, was a founder member. At one time the pub also served as the village bakery. The pub was originally known as "The Pig and Whistle" and later "The Fox" and "The Fox at Charlton", but was renamed "The Fox Goes Free" after a change of ownership in 1985. On 9 November 2015 the Fox's entry in the

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, ...

was updated to include the WI connection, as were records for three other buildings of WI significance.

References

Grade II listed pubs in West Sussex Buildings and structures completed in the 17th century 17th-century establishments in England {{WestSussex-struct-stub