The Bowsing Ken

Young & Company’s:
Double Chocolate Stout

Back in the really olden days the village of Wandsworth Town, in the County of Surrey, which was so named for its location on the River Wandle, was considered a rather distant suburb of London, being a bit of a journey outside of London proper. Today it is simply a neighborhood in the larger London metropolis. Something has existed in the area since well before the compiling of the 1086 Domesday Book, which recorded that a certain Mr. Waendel, or perhaps it was a Mr. Wanda, had some sort of farm there called Wendelsorde or Wandesorde, which can be loosely translated as: "farm on the River Wandle." Apparently, the suffix "sorde" referred to an enclosure or a pen, however whether or not this farm could actually be considered a village is not certain. Confusingly, there is also a supposition that the ancient phrase "gwen dol," which means a "fair and beautiful mead'" was the origin of the name. The old Saxon word "worth" is generally thought to mean "town" or "village," so by adding "worth" to a name, place or other characteristic, you can come up with the name of a town. So, either Mr. Waendel's name or the phrase "gwen dol" was morphed into Wandle, which was thus applied to the river - the River Wandle - or vice versa, and then the suffix "worth" was added and over the years became Wandsworth Town. Simple. No worries, there is not going to be a test.
So, nice bit of old history, yea? But what's it all got to do with Young's and the beer they brewed? Well, Wandsworth was the site of an old public house that can, in a roundabout sort of way, be considered the ancient origins of Young's. Alas the records are somewhat vague as to exactly when it all began, but by the mid-1500s it seems that there was a pub in Wandsworth Town called the Ram - or the Rame, owned by a Ms. Elizabeth Ridon, who in turn, in 1576 (or maybe it was 1581), rented it out (or sold it) to a Mr. Humphrey Langridge. Various court records indicate the Mr. Langridge was a brewer, in addition to being the landlord of the Ram. So, by supposition, one can surmise that beer brewing was going on at the Ram pub - the genesis of the Ram Brewery - as far back as 1576, although I would venture a guess that it had been going on for much longer. There is also some round-about information that the was a certain Cripps family also connected with the Ram around this time, but I can find nothing more on this.
The aforementioned Domesday Book mentions nothing about brewing in all of Surrey, although it did note that there was a "vineyardman" (a "vinitor") living in what was to later be called Wandsworth Town. This was the only vineyardman mentioned in the whole of the book.
The history of the Ram pub and the associated Ram Brewery, over the next hundred or so years, is still rather vague. In 1636, author and boatman John Taylor, called the Water Poet and known for writing of his many travels, recorded that in Wandsworth there were three taverns. Quite frustratingly he records the names of the landlords - Mary Gibson, Sith Browne and William Sherlocke - and not the names of the taverns. Could one of these people been running the Ram at the time? Taylor mentions nothing about a brewery. There is the odd record indicating that by the 1670s, a certain Mr. Draper, or perhaps members of the Draper family - brothers Humphrey and Somerset Draper - owned and operated the Ram pub. These records also seem to indicate that the Ram was still a functioning brewery. As you will see below, there was later on a man by the name of Jacob Tonson, who also somehow figured into the Ram pub's ownership.
If the Ram Brewery was indeed the brewery referenced above it appears it was eventually sold to member of the Tritton family, a family that was already reasonably well immersed in the brewing industry. In 1726, John Tritton moved to the town of Ashford, in the County of Kent, and started a brewery. John, who married Hannah, had a number of kids, including Thomas (1717 - 1786), who was apprenticed out by his father, for a term of seven years at the cost of 100 guineas, to Isaac Skinner - described as a "Citizen and Cooper" - of London, to be schooled as a brewer, a wine merchant, and as a maltster. Thomas' apprenticeship was over in 1740, and he moved to Ashford and established himself in the wine trade. By the way, Thomas's brother, John Jr., took over the Ashford brewery upon the death of their father in 1739, although records do indicate that Thomas was also involved in the brewery. An extant letter dated 11 July 1753, is addressed: "To Thomas Tritton, Brewer, At Ashford, Kent," so Thomas was almost certainly involved in making beer, most likely at the Ashford brewery.
The actual extent of Thomas' involvement in running the Ashford brewery is not clear, he may have been more on the sales end of the business, as illustrated in the following event. In 1756, it appears that Thomas was appointed the keeper of upwards of 1,000 French prisoners of war, then confined at Sissinghurst Castle (now long gone). Although prisoners these Frenchmen apparently had plenty of their own money and brought with them a distinct thirst for beer. In a letter Thomas notes: "A great demand for Stout as well as Ale and Small .... Roads so wet and torn John [his brother?] was troubled to get along with three butts. Such great and unexpected demand will run me out of old beer, and my other customers will want. I am in a sad strait." Commenting on the situation, Thomas' father-in-law - Henton Brown - wrote: "We sent to Thrales [later Barclay, Perkins & Company] about the beer, but they were very stiff. Evidently they knew Thomas must buy more beer than he could brew."
Expanding the business, in 1763, Thomas Tritton bought the Ram Brewery, also occasionally referenced in the records as the Wandsworth Brewery. There are some vague records that indicate Tritton bought the brewery from a Mr. Jacob Tonson, who was selling his portion of the: "late Mr. Draper's brewhouse, at Wandsworth." Thomas Tritton passed away on 13 November 1786, and in his will he left the Ashford brewery, at least his portion of it, and the Wandsworth brewery to his son George.

George Tritton was born on 18 August 1761, and as a young man worked at the Brown & Collinson Banking-house until 1783, when he was brought in to help running the family's two breweries. With the death of his father in 1786, George took over both breweries, both of which were noted as profitable concerns. George died on 16 March 1831, and his only surviving son William did not take up the brewing business. Coincidentally, the year 1831 is the year that Messrs Charles Young and Anthony Bainbridge bought the brewery - most certainly the Ram Brewery - at Wandsworth.

A few interesting tidbits:

* An entry in the account books of Wandsworth churchwardens Thomas Earle and Hugh Campio records that a certain amount of money was: "spent at the Rame."
* In the early 1800s it was noted that Wandsworth Town had a court of requests, sort of a debtor's court, which was convened at the Ram Inn.
* In a book called "The New Tablet of Memory," published in 1841, which recorded historical events in the Wandsworth area, there is an entry that notes: "FIRE, At the Brewery of Messrs. Young and Bainbridge, (late the Brewery of Messrs. Tritton) March 13, 1832." So, clearly by that date the brewery belonged to Young and Bainbridge.
* In the 1918, edition of "A Handbook of Inland Navigation," it is noted: "Wandsworth Cut - a short description. The Cut is formed by one of the mouths of the River Wandle at Wandsworth, and commences by a junction with the River Thames immediately below Wandsworth Creek and proceeds for a distance of nearly three furlongs to the Ram Brewery, High Street, Wandsworth."
* Considering the chronology presented above, dating all the way back into the 1500s, the Ram Brewery, up to 2006, was considered the oldest continuously operating brewery in England. That is until 2006 - more on that below.
* After being bought out by Young and Bainbridge the original Ram Inn was renamed the Brewery Tap.
* Until its closure the Ram Brewery in 2006, it was home to a number of animals, including a ram - of course - as well as a stable of draught horses that were still used to make local beer deliveries.

Back To The Story:

While the pre-history of the Ram Brewery consists of bits and pieces of sometime murky information, what is most certain is that in 1831 partners Young and Bainbridge were owners and operators of the Ram Brewery. After rebuilding from the aforementioned fire, the partners went about growing the ale business and began buying up or leasing pubs and taverns. In 1882, there was another fire, and another round of rebuilding. By 1884, Mr. Bainbridge and his family were out of the picture (where did he/they go?), and by 1890, the company was known as Young & Company's Brewery Ltd, although the actual brewery was still, and always will be, called the Ram Brewery. Yet another round of rebuilding was required when the Ram Brewery was bombed during World War Two.
For the next the century-plus, since 1890, the brewery and business, which would remain under the helm of the Young family, went about making beer, tending to an ever expanding portfolio of owned and managed public houses, as well as a number of hotels. In addition to brewing beer, and running pubs, Young's also earned a pound or two as a contract brewer for diverse local and international clients. The wine merchant firm Cockburn & Campbell was added in 1973. A 5-million pound expansion to the brew house was completed in 1984. Nearing the turn of the 20th Century, Young's resisted the much called for concept of consolidation with other large British brewing firms in an effort to compete on a more global scale. Young's would remain an independent company, until...
The early years of this century saw the biggest change ever for Young's. While it would be tedious to relate every detail of the ensuing wheeling and dealing, it is sufficient to say that the year 2006, saw a major shakeup. The plan was that Young's would team up with the Charles Wells - of Bombardier bitter fame - to mutually brew each company's range of beers at Wells' Bedford brewery. This deal agreed upon on 23 May 2006, it was announced that the Ram Brewery would be closed and the property sold off. This, of course, caused howls of protest, all to no avail. The new company, officially formed on 2 October 2006, was called Wells & Young's Brewing (60% to Wells and 40% to Young's). In September 2006, the Ram Brewery brewed it last beer. In 2011 Wells bought out the 40% share held by Young's. Later, the Bedford Brewery was renamed the Eagle Brewery, which in 2017, along with the entire Charles Wells company, was taken over by Marstons, which today brews Young's, Wells and many other well known British beers. Young's still exists but is solely engaged in running its pubs and boutique hotels.