TWO OF the Great War poets are thought to have discussed their work over a jug of ale in a former coaching inn at Islip.

Poet and author Robert Graves, who lived in the village, was a close friend of fellow writer Siegfried Sassoon and they are believed to been regular visitors to The Old Fox Inn, now on the market for £720,000.

Positioned in the High Street, records show the property dates from about 1662 and served ale until it was converted to a private home in 1928.

Dr Malcolm Stuart, whose daughter Freya is selling the property, said: "We know that Islip was an important coaching station on the main London-to-Worcester route, before the days of canals and railways. Some 21 inns were scattered through the village and one of these was the Fox, then known as the Fox and Grapes.

"A s horse-drawn transport declined in importance, the inns died out, until by the early 1920s there were just five left, and one of these was the Old Fox, now largely serving the needs of locals and visitors from Oxford.

"One such local was Robert Graves, a resident of Islip with his wife, Nancy Nicholson, and it is nice to think that his famous anti-war autobiography Goodbye to All That was perhaps spawned or mulled over within the Fox.

"He would have strolled up the High Street with chums like Siegfried Sassoon, who had cycled out from Oxford, and over jars of ale they teased out the torments and tragedies of their respective experiences in the Great War.

"Nothing is certain but Graves gives an account of his time in Islip in the book, and the dates fit well.

"He left for Cairo University in late 1926, the Fox closed in 1928, and a few months after that the first edition of Goodbye to All That appeared in print."

The property has been renovated and modernised over the past year but still has many historical fixtures.

Stone flooring, tiling and original floor boards are used downstairs, there are hand-made wooden shutters or blinds in every room and two woodburning stoves with natural stone tiled hearths.

Downstairs is a study/lounge and kitchen/breakfast room/snug with double cooker, Butler sink, refrigerator and freezer and beechwood and glass fitted units.

The ground floor also includes a dining room with stone fireplace and utility room with double sink, worktop, dishwasher and washer-drier plus washroom with WC and bidet.

Upstairs are four bedrooms, including the master with an en-suite shower room, large double guest bedroom, two singles and bathroom with steel bath.

A rear courtyard, accessed by an automatic gate system, provides off-road parking for six vehicles.

Within this area are two restored stone barns, one double-height with a mezzanine floor providing facilities for a home office which connects through a WC/shower room and corridor to a second 45-sq-metre barn. There is also more office/workspace in what was the original cellar .

For more information about The Old Fox Inn, or to arrange a viewing, contact Chancellors on 01865 516161 or visit chancellors.co.uk