West Sussex pub where first meeting in England was held and home of first chairwoman get plaques to recognise their roles in WI movement

The Women’s Institute in England was born 100 years ago not, as some might expect, in a kitchen or a parish hall, but in the cosy back room of a pub in West Sussex – a milestone now marked by a small wooden plaque on the wall.

The Fox Goes Free pub in Charlton already had listed building status, as a charming 17th-century structure with original features including an ancient bread oven. However, on Monday it will be relisted, along with three other key sites in the history of the Women’s Institute, reflecting its role in their story.

The WI was founded in Canada in 1897, and the British wing – which now has 6,600 branches and 212,000 members – began in Anglesey, Wales in 1915, in response to the need to step up food production in the war.

But the first meeting in England was at the Fox Goes Free on 9 November that year. The venue was presumably chosen because the innkeeper, a Mrs Laishley, was a founder member and the nearest village hall – where the WI now meets – in nearby Singleton, was then reserved for men only.

The culture minister, Lady Neville-Rolfe, said the WI was an extraordinary social movement, a much loved British institution. “As a farmer’s daughter I am very aware that the WI was formed during the first world war, encouraging women to grow and preserve food.”

Balcombe Place, a Victorian mansion in Sussex which was the home of the first chairwoman, Lady Gertrude Denman, from 1905 until her death in 1954 , is also being relisted to recognise her decades in office. She led the rapidly growing movement from 1917 until 1946.

The present chair of the national federation of the WI, Janice Langley, said it was fantastic that Historic England was joining the centenary celebrations through the listing of buildings that played important roles in the earliest days of the movement.

The other sites being relisted reflect the growing scale and wealth of the movement. In 1947, the WI bought the imposing 18th century Marcham Park in Oxfordshire to use as a residential training centre, and renamed it Denman College in honour of its recently retired chair.

Denman is still in operation, although residents at courses no longer have to0 sleep in dormitories or carry out all the household chores.

The fourth building is more modest, the former Mechanics Institute in Newbrough, Northumberland, which in 1948 was given to the WI along with £100 to renovate the building.