Unsurprisingly this is the question we are asked most frequently. Until the early 1950's the pub was called, somewhat uninspiringly, The New Inn - there having once been an older inn, The Black Lion, further up the lane.

The landlord at the time, a well upholstered gentleman by the name of Charles Ossington who weighed in at 20+ stone, was in the habit of pulling pints or turning round to use the spirit optics while continuing to remain seated on a stool he had behind the, then, small bar.

One day a regular customer came in and said "You look like an elephant sitting on a nest". Charles was tickled by the description and accordingly applied to the local magistrates to change the name; they agreed, and 'The Elephant's Nest Inn was born. Curiously, 'The New Inn' still appears on certain Ordnance Survey maps so please don't get confused.