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The Marquis of Granby - Streetgate
The Marquis of Granby Public house is situated on Streetgate, Sunniside in the county of Tyne and Wear. The building is on the route of one of the first wagon-ways built around 1710 and may have been used for resting and watering of the horses.
The first tenant of the public house, The Marquis of Granby, we have been able to trace was Mrs. Margaret Pyle in 1861. In the year 1865 we know that the landlord was one William Laidman, locally known as 'Bill of the Bank'. The next tenants we are able to trace are Thomas Gray Thirlaway of Union Cottage, Sunniside and his brother Robert. The two brothers were left the property in a will but we are unable to be certain of the date or the benefactor.
The pub was purchased in April 1902 by Newcastle Breweries Ltd., and was rebuilt between 1903 and 1905 at a cost of £1908. The tenants since that date have been:-
Thomas Routledge May 1906
James Heanne Feb 1910
Chas Wm Esson April 1915
Jas Wm Redhead Feb 1934
Harold Burn Hall May 1936
Arthur Dixon Scorer Feb 1938
William Joseph Hocking Sep 1955
William Montgomerie Aug 1956
Malcolm Henry Frederick O'Shea Aug 1966
John Bingham Patterson June 1969
Mary Barton Aug 1970
Cecil A Bell July 1977
Ola Bell (his wife) Oct 1979
John Gray April 1981
Peter Weatherby Dec 1982
It was during the tenancy of the Scorer family that the first known sighting of the ghost occurred. It was young Arthur and his elder brother who witnessed the event one night in their bedroom. Since that time each succeeding tenant has experienced possible sightings and strange occurrences. It is believed to be the image of an elderly woman and whether or not there is any connection with the murder that took place in 1865, we are unable to say.
Comments
Re - Marquis of Granby - I have just obtained a copy of the will of William Thirlaway (1787-1845) and in it he bequeathes "the public house in Streetgate lane" to his sons Robert and Thomas Grey. This must be the will and benefactor to whom you refer. Robert Thirlaway was my g.g.grandfather. Is it possible to tell me more about the murder mentioned? Thanks
Posted by: Lillian Parr at January 23, 2008 3:32 PM
Lillian, We have only been able to find out a little more about the Marquis of Granby murder. We now understand that the murder was committed in August 1866 but we don't know who was murdered. Apparently a group of people, including the murdered man, had been to a flower show at nearby Ravensworth and afterwards went drinking at the Marquis of Granby. The murdererd man's body was found the following morning propped up against a hedge. The murderer was never found. A local lady who lived there with her mother reports that there was a ghost, reputedly a mother looking for her son, and building workers working in the pub also witnessed ladders moving about. There is a list of former tenants on a wall in the pub.
Posted by: Whickham Web Wanderers at January 31, 2008 10:25 AM