Place Name
Developed in the late 2010s following the closure of the Ram Brewery on this site, the name, cleverly, relates to the former use. A bellwether is the lead ram in a herd of sheep – the term derives from the Middle English belle-weder, referring to the practice of placing a bell around the neck of the lead wether (a castrated male sheep). A shepherd could then note the movements of the animals by hearing the bell, even when the flock was not in sight. The word was first used in the above meaning in the 15thCentury but has since evolved to mean a leader or an indicator of trends, particularly in politics. All the streets in the Ram Quarter as it became known were connected with brewing. The Ram brewery was thought to be the oldest continuous documented brewing site in Britain, with records of an inn, the Ram, undoubtedly with its own brewhouse, going back to 1533.
