His father was an agent for Dundalls Whisky and by 1881 had moved to Swanscombe, Kent.
Objects on display include a 400,000-year-old hand axe from Swanscombe in Kent, and a napkin used by Queen Elizabeth I which features her embroidered portrait and an image of St George slaying the Dragon.
Born at Swanscombe, Kent, he was son of Benjamin Ranyard by his wife Ellen Henrietta Ranyard (née White).
Joan de Munchensi or Munchensy (or Joanna), Lady of Swanscombe and Countess of Pembroke (c. 1230 – aft. September 20, 1307), was the daughter of Joan Marshal and granddaughter of William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke and Isabel de Clare, 4th Countess of Pembroke suo jure.