Ram Jam Inn

The Ram Jam Inn was a pub on the A1 in Rutland, England between Stamford and Grantham.[1] It was frequented by the highwayman Dick Turpin in the 18th century, and it is alleged that one of his confidence tricks inspired the pub's name.[2]

Ram Jam Inn
The pub in December 2007
Location within England
General information
Type	Public house
Location	Stretton, Rutland, England
Coordinates	52°43′58″N 0°36′2″W

The pub originally opened as a coaching inn called the Winchelsea Arms,[2] but became known as the Ram Jam Inn by the early 19th century.[3] Turpin was a temporary lodger at the inn, and resided here when he first found notoriety. He showed his landlady, Mrs Spring, how to draw mild and bitter ale from a single barrel, stating "ram one thumb in here whilst I make a hole ... now jam your other thumb in this hole while I find the forgotten spile pegs." Turpin subsequently disappeared without paying his bill, while Spring was trapped with two thumbs in the barrel.[2] An alternative, similar, account is that an unnamed con-artist, not specifically named as Turpin, made the landlord fall for the trick so the trickster could try and seduce the landlady. A third tale is that by the 19th century "ram-jam" was a term that meant both eating to capacity and a place full of people.[4] In 1878, Hugh Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale ran 100 miles from Knightsbridge Barracks to the inn in under 18 hours in order to win a bet.[5]

Soul singer Geno Washington named his backing band the Ram Jam Band after the pub,[6] as it was a popular place for the band to stop en route to gigs.[7] When reviewing the inn in 2000, The Telegraph's Paddy Burt described the meals as "simple food, well done".[1] The novelist Margaret Drabble enjoyed staying at the inn, noting that the double glazing effectively masks the sound of traffic on the A1.[8]

In August 2013 the pub was closed and put on the market for an estimated value of £550,000.[9]

The Ram Jam Inn is mentioned in the novel Room for Us by Roger Harvey (UK, 2020, ISBN 9781800318342).{cn}}