Dang My Buttons!

William Randall (1728-1793) of West Lulworth, Dorset, England

5^th Great-Grandfather of Jennifer Greet

Not everyone has a great-grandfather who was the inspiration for one of England's comic caricatures, but some years ago I found (with mixed emotions) that our ancestor, William Randall, “Malster and Victualler” of the Red Lion Inn in West Lulworth, is famous for being the character behind the iconic “John Barleycorn”, the quintessential genial publican and mine-host. This is his story:

William Randall was born about 1728 in  the small village of West Lulworth, the only son of Thomas and Anne Randall. Thomas Randall, in his Will made in 1769, describes himself as “Shopkeeper and Malster” of West Lulworth.  Anne Randall has been described by some decendants as “an educated woman”, the daughter of a clergyman (however, this is unconfirmed).  After William there were six daughters  born to the family: Anne (1730); Mary (1735); Jane (1738); Elizabeth (1739); Susannah (1741) and Alicia (1743). William, the son and heir, grew up learning the skills of a brewer.

In December 1755 William married Mary Dunning of the neighbouring village of Winfrith Newburg and in the space of the next 9 years, they had a family of 7 children; 5 sons (Thomas, William, John, Robert & James)  and 2 daughters (Jane and Mary). James, the youngest son, died at the age of 10 years, but all the other children survived into adulthood.

William's wife Mary died in 1765, and was buried in West Lulworth. Then, in February 1768, William married again, to Bridget Reason, at St Peter's Church in Dorchester. Bridget was not from a local family, and it is thought by some of her descendants that she may have been quite "well off" in her own right. William and Bridget Randall had two children, a daughter Elizabeth in 1769 (our ancestor), and a son Matthew in 1774.

Over the years William had established himself as a "Malster and Victualler", the Landlord of the Red Lion Inn at West Lulworth. The Dorset Alehouse Licence Records for 1769 and 1770 show that William Randall paid an annual fee of 10 pounds for permission to keep a "Victualling House" in West Lulworth. William's father Thomas died in 1770, and William then inherited the malthouse and associated farmlands. In later years, when it was no longer licenced as an Inn, the Red Lion reverted to its original name of “Churchfield House”.

William Randall was to become locally quite famous as a jovial and generous Inn-Keeper, Mine-Host of the Red Lion. It was he who became the inspiration for "John Barleycorn", one of the central characters in a play by the Irish dramatist John O'Keeffe. O'Keeffe stayed at the Red Lion during the summer of 1791, and he used the Inn as a setting in his farce "The London Hermit, or Rambles in Dorsetshire (1793)." The characters were based on the Landlord (William Randall) and his family and staff of the Inn. John Barleycorn himself is portrayed as a kindly but rather rustic host whose favourite expression of surprise or amazement is “Well, dang my buttons!”

At the time this play was produced Dorset and the countryside around Weymouth and Lulworth in particular was becoming quite famous as what we would describe today as a seaside holiday resort. The King, George III, and members of the Royal Family family spent several holidays at Lulworth Castle, hosted by the Weld family. It is reputed that the King was at times served ale from the Red Lion Inn.

Thus, when O'Keeffe's play was produced at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket, there was a capacity audience. Apparently, the King asked for a Command performance. Paul Randall, in his article “The Comical Innkeeper of Lulworth” published in the Dorset Year Book of 1995, says “The bucolic antics of the actors were much appreciated but it was only gentle fun and one cannot take offence at the lines. William was portrayed as John Barleycorn, his principal servant as Toby Thatch and his daughter as Kitty. The latter was described as a young girl educated much above her station and acted by no less a person than the celebrated Mrs. Kemble.”

The Red Lion Inn had its own farm, and of course William brewed his own ale. As a matter of interest, John O'Keeffe described his lunch in 1791 at the Red Lion Inn at West Lulworth as: "Roast loin of lamb, delicate boiled chickens, green-peas, young potatoes, a gooseberry pie, thick cream, good strong home-brewed ale, and a glass of tolerable port-wine.” No doubt the cellar of The Red Lion held many “tolerable” wines, Lulworth Cove nearby being the absolute epitome of a smuggler's cove, and the coast of France not so very far away!

We have a description of William Randall from his descendant, Paul Randall, who admits this may be slightly exaggerated:  “He was tall, thin and bony, with a long sallow face and dark staring eyes. His dress consisted usually of a short white flannel coat, a scarlet waistcoat with brass buttons, brown stockings and thick soled shoes with iron buckles. When speaking he gesticulated wildly, swinging his arms and head about and continually stammering over the many long and fine-sounding words with which he endeavoured to embellish his speech”. (Dorset Year Book - ‘The Comical Innkeeper of Lulworth’ ).

William Randall died in December 1793, and was buried in West Lulworth. His tombstone reads: "In Memory of William Randall who died Dec 20 1793 aged 65.   A faithfull friend. A husband dear, A loving father sleepeth here. Also Bridget wife of the above …"

The four surviving sons of his first marriage had all taken up farming in the area, and they were all mentioned in their father's Will. William left the bulk of his estate to his wife Bridget for her lifetime, to pass to their son Matthew, who became the next Landlord of the Red Lion. There were also generous bequests to his three daughters, Jane (wife of William Mores), Mary (wife of Henry Wickham) and Elizabeth (wife of Captain John Carter). It is from the marriage of Elizabeth Randall and John Carter that we are descended.

William's wife Bridget died in 1804, and her son Matthew Randall then inherited the Red Lion Inn. Her tombstone gives her date of death as 8 December 1804, and her age as 76. This would give her a birth year of 1728, making her about 40 years old at the time of her marriage to William Randall.

(Information from website for West Lulworth, hosted by Martin White, as part of the Dorset Online Parish Clerk network. http://www.westlulworth.org.uk/index.html)

Will of Thomas Randall (1770), Will of William Randall (1793), Will of  Bridget Randall (1804)