The manor of Paulerspury, originally known as Parvelis Pery, was in the hands of William Peveril in 1066, passing on to Lawrence de Parveli in 1315 and Sir Nicholas Throwmorton in 1551. Sir Edward Hales, a minister for James II came to the manor in 1685 and his family was succeeded by the Earl of Bathurst, the Lord High Chancellor, in 1772. Paulerspury is the birth place of William Carey, born in 1761, the celebrated missionary, translator and professor of the Sanserit Bengali and Mahratta tongues in Calcutta. Once a lace making village, by 1940 the industry had almost ceased.
1766: The first written reference to the Barley Mow records the landlord as Thomas Smith. In 172 there were as many as five other licenses in the village, no doubt rendering competition for trade quite considerable. In 1805, Thomas Smith's licence was granted by payments of £10 each from William Holloway of Towcester and John Smith of Paulerspury.
1827: The ale house passed in to the hands of William Smith who combined the business with the trades of farrier, cowleach and mason. He was landlord for 27 years. With the population in the village at 1092, Paulerspury had four other public houses: The Red Lion, The Windmill, The White Hart and The Plough. By 1849, the principal landowners were The Duke of Grafton and the The Earl of Pomfret.
1854: John Smith came to The Barley Mow.
1866: John Holton was tenant until 1871 when the living of Paulerspury was recorded at a value of £1000 in the gift of New College, Oxford and was held by the Rev. W H Newbolt.
1874: Mrs Elizabeth Holton succeeded John Holton at a time when there were three other public houses in the village and the population had risen to 1220.
1877: James Holton became landlord. In this year the carrier to Northampton was John Elliot who travelled to and from the fleece on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
1885: William Harris ran the ale house.
1894: Mrs Sarah Harris took over from William, when her competitors were two rival public houses, The Bricklayers (Pury End), The Plough and two beer retailers. The village tradesmen included a Limeburner, saddler, two blacksmiths and a hurdle maker. The land was owned by the Duke of Grafton KG, CB and Sir Thomas Fermor-Hesketh Bart.
1906: Henry C Eaton was tenant. At this time there were 180 pillow lace workers in the village out of a population of 918, the industry having been revived due to the efforts of the rector's wife, Mrs Harrison.
1910: Sydney Skears came to the Barley Mow and in 1911 is advertised in Bennetts business directory as follows: Ales, Wines and Spirits of the Finest Quality. Stabling, loose boxes, good accommodation for cyclists and visitors.
1920: The Barley Mow passed in to the hands of Albert Eaton followed by a series of short tenancies.
1936: Mrs Emily Burrell
1948: John Fisher
1950: William Donald Hugh Coleman
1954: Ronald Frederick Southern
1956: Iris Eleanor Draper
1960: Thomas Henry Redman
1969: Robert Denzil Telford
1980: Arthur Gordon Cowley became the 19th recorded landlord.
1988: Rita Craddock
1992: John and Moira Groves came to The Barley Mow with Luigi and Isabella Pezzota reopening the restaurant as “Luigi’s”
1996: Anthony Roy and Sandra Darlston
1997: Peter Rimmer and Sandra Clenshaw; Tommy and Gay Bell
1998: Bryan Rayfield and Pat Wheatstone
1999: Robert and Rebecca Perez
2000: Gareth Seddon and Julie Gresty; Michael and Jane Broadbent
2001: Cliff and Jane Morgan; Andrew and Suzanne Ruddy
2003: Alice with Kris Murphy ran the Barley Mow after Grahame and Wendy left.
2004: Paul Ray and Patricia Flynn with dogs Benson, Sam, Chloe and cats Bacardi, Tigger and Ollie with birds Chuck and Budgie. Tracy Izzing and Claire Smith with the Molloy family were the main staff here between 1997 and 2008.
The licencing laws changed in 2005 and the no smoking ban came in 2007. The recorded population for Paulerspury in 2008 was 996.
2008: Allan Read and Alastair Charles. Katie Pendlebury continues working here since 2006.
2010: Mrs Phil Molloy with sons Ciaran and Brian.
21012: Alberto Riberio
2013: Matt Grimsey and Hannah Pearson