Page 107 - Froghall Drive Our Story
P. 107
The Who'd a Thought It – Nine Mile Ride
Up to 1901
The unusual name, first recorded in 1861, is said to have originated in a remark by the Duke of
Wellington. The story goes that travelling in the forest one day and feeling very thirsty he suddenly
came across the pub. His exclamation ’Who’d a thought it' became the name of the pub. It is an
unlikely story since there are several other pubs by the same name in other parts of the country
and the pub wasn't open when Windsor Forest existed.
According to the historian Bryant Lily-White, the name is thought to have been taken from the
suggestion of a wag that the motto to the coat of arms of a certain baronet-brewer should be:
Who'd a thought it?
Hops had bought it.
1901 to 2011
The pub was closed and demolished in 2003. The area has been redeveloped as a small residential
estate. The latest Barnett's street map of Wokingham still includes a public house in this area,
showing its former position.
