1861

And in this idyllic setting… the first recorded mention of The Ranelagh appears!

Who (or what) is Ranelagh?

(Click on the gallery to see the captions)

Time to tackle the big question: Why is The Ranelagh called The Ranelagh?

At first glance, we were spoilt for choice

The pub doesn’t appear in “A Dictionary of Pub Names” …

… or in “An Introduction to Inn Signs”. We decided to start with London’s most famous Ranelagh –

Richard Jones, the 1st Earl of Ranelagh. Turns out, he’s not such a stand up guy – he actually embezzled the equivalent of £70.5 million of public funds. So maybe not someone you would name a pub after.

This picture of the pub from the 1970s shows a different sign to the current one.

The picture on the sign is … Thomas Heron Jones, the 7th Viscount Ranelagh.

Thomas Heron Jones was a cool guy, as you tell by this picture. He was the chief advocate of a volunteer “People’s Army” in Middlesex at the time the pub opened.

1864

You can see The Ranelagh in the top right-hand corner of this map from 1864, surrounded by fields.

The resident population of Bounds Green is less than 120 people at this point, so the main customers at the pub are probably from the brick factory visible at the bottom of the map, and travellers on their way to London.

1881

According to the census, the following people are living in The Ranelagh Tavern in 1881:

Ann M Carnew, Licensed Victualler, 53, Enfield

Her children:
Thomas Carnew, Son, Sergeant Major Royal Artillery, 32, Enfield
Ann M Carnew, Daughter In Law, 25, Woolwich, Kent
Thomas Hodge, Son In Law, Bricklayer, 36, Luton, Bedford
Mary Ann Hodge, Daughter, Edmonton
Elizabeth Carnew, Daughter, Barmaid, 20, Loughton, Essex
John Carnew, Son, House Carpenter, 15, Tottenham
Fanny Carnew, Daughter, 12, Tottenham
and Ellen Hodge, Daughter, 12, Tottenham

Her grandchildren:
Lawrette, 10
William, 5
Thomas, 3
Charles, 1
and William Fallin, 8

A servant:
Reuben Johnson, 15, Southgate

And boarders:
Thomas Flint, Coachman, 48, Beverly, York
Charles Howard, Carpenter, 25, Chatham, Kent
Edward J Hall, General Labourer, 42, Springfield, Essex
John Arnold, 55, Gamblingay, Cambridge
William Horton, Bricklayers Lab, 26, Edmonton, Middlesex
John Smith, Excavator, 51, Haixton, Cambridge

1886

Sale of alcohol to children on licensed premises is banned. So no more 3 pints a day:

1891

Alice Mary Maud Brooks is working as a barmaid at The Ranelagh

1906

In 1906, Alice Mary Maud Brooks and her fellow barmaids have to fight for the right to pull pints: the Barmaids Defence League is formed.

They had to fight because the temperance movement (which believed alcohol was the root of all evil) was trying to do everything in its power to stop women from setting foot in pubs, let alone working in them.

The two women on either side of Peggy in the picture are Eva Gore-Booth and Esther Roper, who were key in the Barmaids Defence League and also in the suffragette movement in general.

1914

During World War I, beer prices increase, beer is watered down, and the quantity of beer being produced is halved. According to the Prime Minister, Lloyd George:

1918

Despite this, at the end of the war The Ranelagh is still going strong. The landlords are now Mr and Mrs Simmonds. In 1918, Mr and Mrs Simmonds are conducting interviews for new staff. On the same day, they hire Nellie, a 21 year old from New Southgate, as the cook, and 20 year-old Alan, as their chauffeur. Alan had been driving supply trucks in France in the war – he had managed to enlist in under age, at just 16.