History

The Old Sergeant is a small public house

Public house

A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...

, typical of the 'local' in many poorer parts of London. It is situated on Garratt Lane

Garratt Lane

Garratt Lane is a road in the borough of Wandsworth, London. It connects Wandsworth High Street to Tooting Broadway and is approximately four kilometres long. It passes through both Earlsfield and Summerstown.- Description :...

 in Wandsworth

Wandsworth

Wandsworth is a district of south London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is situated southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-Toponymy:...

, which in the 18th and 19 centuries was an exit road to the south. It is known to have existed under the same name (Old Sergeant) in 1785, when a John Nash held the licence. Later, it was owned by Earl Spencer

Earl Spencer

Earl Spencer is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain that was created on 1 November 1765, along with the title Viscount Althorp, of Althorp in the County of Northamptonshire, for John Spencer, 1st Viscount Spencer, a great-grandson of the 1st Duke of Marlborough...

 and was purchased by Henry Young in 1857 and became tied to the Young's Brewery

Young's Brewery

Young's is a British pub chain operating nearly 220 pubs.The company was founded as a brewery in 1831 by Charles Young and Anthony Bainbridge when they purchased the Ram Brewery in Wandsworth...

. The frontage has changed little over the years. The doors of the old coach-house can be still seen at the right of the building.