10 things you might not know about Harry Ramsden’s

The Bournemouth outlet is now believed to be the world’s largest fish and chip restaurant, extending to over 15,000 sq ft with seating for 417 diners.

Here are ten facts you might not know about the legendary Harry Ramsden...

1. Young Harry Ramsden originally wanted to be a publican and opened a pub after returning from the Great War but was persuaded to continue the family tradition and work in the fish and chip trade.

2. He opened his first outlet in 1928, a hut in Guiseley, Yorkshire which he bought for £150 and created his own secret recipe batter (which is still used today).

3. Harry opened his first restaurant in Guiseley in 1931 and it was the grandest ever seen - complete with oak panelling and chandeliers

4. Harry’s popularity grew during World War 2, because fish and chips were a handful of items that weren’t rationed.

5. Harry knew a thing about getting his name out there and was arguably Britain’s original “guerrilla marketeer”. His business was one of the first to sponsor a runner in a road race when Harry persuaded a participant to wear a vest emblazoned with the message, A Sure Winner Ramsden’s Fish and Chips.

6. For one day only on July 7 in 1952 the cost of fish and chips at Harry Ramsden’s was reverted to pre-war prices and set a world record, selling 10,000 portions in a single day.

7. Harry Ramsden’s was in the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s largest fish and chip restaurant, seating 275 diners!

8. Harry was so dedicated to his business that from 1928 until 1938, he didn’t take a holiday.

9. Today, there are 38 Harry Ramsden’s outlets across the UK. Each year, the number of freshly cut chips served in Harry Ramsden outlets is greater than the populations of Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus and Iceland all put together.

10. If they put in a row all the fish served annually, the line would stretch up and down Big Ben more than 650 times...