Past

History reveals that ‘The Fountain Inn’ was once known as one of “a curious group of buildings” on Regent Street, which depicted different aspects of Victorian life. Other premises in the group were a workhouse, a police station and a church.

‘ The Fountain Inn’ is shown on a number of Victorian contemporary drawings as representing pleasure. Next to ‘The Fountain Inn’ lay the ‘Spinning House’ workhouse for women (now Mandela House), which was seen as depicting morality. The council building adjacent to Mandela House was previously the city police station thus representing law and order. Finally lies the Baptist church, which illustrates religion.

Today only The Fountain Inn and the Baptist church fulfil their original purposes!

Present

The Fountain Inn was taken over by The Knight Pub Company in August 2005; and now in our third year of trading the business has gone from strength to strength. We pride ourselves in giving great service, and being a warm and inviting place to come anytime day or night. Our food menu specialises in Pie and Mash, and Soups and Sandwiches, all of which are made using free range meat and local produce, and our drinks range consists of great local ales, continental beers, premium wines and spirits and an exclusive cocktail list. It is undisputed that we are firmly lodged as one of the best Cambridge bars on the night life circuit, with a high level of trade and a great atmosphere every night, especially since the introduction of the late hours, and of course our late license!

Please browse through our food, drink and entertainment pages for further details on what we have to offer.

Future

We are currently planning a major refurbishment, scheduled for summer '08. The aim being to make use of all the space available to us and open up all floors in one way or another. After the inevitable period of closure expect to see dramatic change with the introduction of the previously mentioned hotel, as well as a first floor roof terrace and private function room. Watch this space for more details, and for the opportunity to get a feel for some of the changes via the architectural drawings.