A London pub’s past is linked to a £6 million robbery in 1983. Millions still missing, hidden within secret walls?
The pub’s owner then was Clifford Saxe. He was a former robber. He suddenly retired to Spain. The stolen cash weighed five tonnes. Only £2 million was ever found. People think the Fox had a secret hiding spot. Police suspected a false wall.
Saxe was wanted by Scotland Yard. He was part of a group called the ‘Famous Five’. They all ran away to Spain. Saxe died in 2002 before facing justice.
Sam Cullen wrote about the Fox. He wrote about other lost pubs in London too. Cullen said Saxe retired right after the robbery. Police found a secret room at the pub. The room smelled like beer and mildew. Cops thought the stolen money was held there. They found banknotes that smelled the same.
The Fox became a craft beer pub in 2012. It had a roof terrace and a beer vending machine. The pub closed six years later. The owners planned flats upstairs then. Now, the pub is empty and boarded up. The Wellington Pub Company wants a new tenant now. It is a historical place with a storied and interesting past.
Cullen included the Fox in his new book. It is called “London’s Lost Pubs”. The book also features other pubs. Muhammad Ali visited the Thomas A Becket. Dale Winton DJ’d at the Old King Lud. Coldplay played at The Camden Falcon.
Many pubs close these days. The Campaign for Real Ale says over 1,000 shut last year. Cullen thinks pubs have a better chance to survive now. Councils can protect pubs. Communities can help save them too.
Cullen is hopeful for pubs like the Fox. He says you never know what may happen. He hopes the Fox can reopen someday. He wants people to remember the past and the struggle. Cullen wants his book to show pubs’ role in communities. He wants to help preserve them too. He is fascinated by pubs and their local history. He hopes the book keeps these places and memories alive.