Home > Essex > Matching Tye > Hare & Hounds Hare & Hounds
Date of photo: 1967	Picture source: John Cutting
The Hare & Hounds was situated on The Green.
Local newspaper review by John Cutting, 1960s
The Essex countryside lacks the rugged grandeur of the North of England and nowhere is there any landscape to approach the rolling plains of the west. The attractiveness of the county rests more on the lovely old villages some of which have the delicate charm of a Fauberge miniature. Such a gem is, undoubtedly the area around Matching.
Within the yard of the picturesque Church of St Mary the Virgin stands the weather-beaten Matching Hall with its barn and dove-cot. Nearby is a large lily pond - reputed to be the finest in the country - overlooked by the elegant rectory. To the west of the church is a timber-framed and plastered Marriage Feast Room which dates from the 15th Century.
The whole prospect is enchanting.
At one time the country was divided into Hundreds, each of which was a sub-division of a county or shire having its own court. The origin of the word Tye is obscure but it is believed that it was the name given to a tenth part of a Hundred.
Matching Tye is one of several villages in the county that have retained the delightful word in their title. Opposite the Hare & Hounds is Gainsborough Cottage, a 17th Century building which is the pride of the village. In the past it was the local post office and the old sign is still to be seen on the wall.
The facade of the Hare & Hounds is Victorian but the original building line can still be traced inside the bar. The inn once consisted of two cottages and the extension was added towards the end of the last Century. The village market used to be held in a large room at the inn.
The building is reputed to be haunted but the poltergeistic activities appear to have been confined to mounting non-existent stairs after closing time!
Present tenant at the Hare & Hounds is Roy Peacock who left the printing trade to take over the inn some twelve months ago. Together with his attractive wife, Beryl, they claim to be the youngest innkeepers in the district. The house is becoming increasingly popular and Roy has plans to make the saloon bar a centre for motor enthusiasts while horse-riding devotees will find the Oak Lounge decorated with an equine flavour.
Already he has collected a number of car badges and, on the walls, are pictures of historic and vintage cars. These depict the 1901 Wolseley 10hp Tonneau, the 1930 Family Morgan and the popular Austin Seven Chummy Tourer of 1923. Roy hopes that a car club might find the inn a sympathetic place in which to hold their meetings or to make their headquarters during a rally.
Above the bar, next to a hunting horn, is a yard of ale. The record for downing the contents stands at one minute 40 seconds. This, I should say, is slow and I know that Roy would encourage all enthusiastic beer drinkers who might like to attempt to lower the record.
When I was at the inn I learned of the beard-growing competition then in progress. The winner was due to be chosen during the week before Christmas. I was told that the judging would be carried out by the ladies of the dart's team while blindfold. No doubt the winner will have been able to declaim feelingly the words of the poet: 'Who touches this touches a MAN'.
There is in the public bar a well-positioned darts board which is regularly in use for matches. The men compete in the Courage League while the ladies take on all comers from industrial firms in Harlow.
Another popular sport in the bar is 'skittles'. This game, not often seen in this part of Essex, is known as 'Devil among the Tailors' and commemorates the day when tailors' apprentices spent the little spare time they enjoyed in the local hostelries
On the wall there is a reproduction of a photograph taken about 1900 which shows a number of customers gathered outside the inn on Fair Day. Several hirsute worthies sit around while the more elderly ladies are resplendent in sparkling white aprons which could never have known the virtues of modern detergents. The inn was then owned by Chaplins' Brewery who were later taken over by Barclay Perkins.
Beryl Peacock is fast gaining a reputation for her excellent hot meals. Her great speciality is a plate of potatoes baked in their jackets and a wonderful snack they make on a cold winter evening.
There is an unmistakeable atmosphere of good cheer at the Hare & Hounds. I was particularly delighted by a series of plates fixed over the bar bearing amusing aphorisms. The one I liked best of all carried the caption:
'There are more old drunks than old doctors
Let that be a lesson to you'.
Brewers: Courage (Eastern) Ltd
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