More to the Fox Hall Inn than dominoes and darts

DARTS, pool, dominoes and even quoits are sports normally associated with pubs. But the Fox Hall Inn, off the A66, is different – it is home to a clay pigeon shooting club.

In a unique and mutually beneficial partnership the pub and Fox Hall Gun Club have been closely linked for about a quarter of a century.

Founding member and current club secretary Paul Hadfield explained how it came about: “The previous landlord was quite interested in shooting and we got talking and started a club.”

Fox Hall Gun Club launched with about a dozen marksmen but has grown over the years to its current strength of about 60 members.

Growth, the secretary revealed has largely been due to word of mouth.

Perhaps the appeal of the club is its after-shoot meal – Fox Hall Inn is famous for its fish and chips.

Mr Hadfield said: “We are quite lucky, we have the car park here and the pub here. Everywhere else you have to drive some distance for a pub.”

The club is part of the Cleveland and North Yorkshire Sporting Clay League, which comprises nine teams stretching from Hartlepool to Stokesley.

During the shooting season, which runs from mid-April to August, the club has eight away and eight home shoots. Home matches run between 6.30pm and about 8.30pm on a Wednesday.

Mr Hadfield said: “Normally we get about 80 guns through on a Wednesday.”

Each shooter has 25 clay pigeons with the top eight scores from each club being tallied up to determine who the winner is on the day.

In the past the club has boasted former England shooters and has spent time at the top of the league.

Fortunes were less successful last season with the club ending about third from bottom.

This, Mr Hadfield said, might be due to many shooters hanging up their shotguns for the winter months when the club shuts down. Some opposition clubs have the benefit of being able to shoot over weekends through the winter giving their marksmen more practice.

Membership of the club is largely from Richmond through to upper Teesdale, but some members come from as far as Yarm.

The secretary said: “It is a friendly club. We are in it for the fun but everyone works hard to make it happen.”

Club membership costs £10 a year and each shoot costs £14, but this includes clay-pigeons, a meal at the inn and the hire of a security guard to watch over vehicles and guns.

While the meal is fish and chips, shooters have the option of choosing something else if they do not like fish.

For more information about the club email Mr Hadfield on paulhadfield1@sky. com.