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Real Ales... Real Food.... Real Wine!
The Black Horse is a real find for real Ale drinkers. We always have at least
3 top quality beers kept in prime condition by the enthusiastic Landlord. From
the first to the last we guarantee you will always enjoy the Black Horse Real
Ales.
And.... with over 30 hand picked wines chosen for quality and value from all
around the world, the discerning wine drinker is sure to find a favourite to match
taste and pocket.
The Black Horse history...
Dating back to the seventeen hundreds, the Black Horse was only one of 10 cottages
built on the estate of the infamous Bobby Shafto. MP for County Durham from 1760-68,
he was born at Whitworth and was immortalised in the famous northern song, Bonny
Bobby Shafto. The song was used as an election ditty and is thought to be based
on the hopes of Mary Bellasis of Brancepeth Castle who believed that Bobby Shafto
would come back and marry her. Sadly, he married someone else and Mary is said
to have died of a broken heart.
The Black Horse was the first and largest of the cottages which all had red tiled
roofs, Hence the name Red Row. Leases were given to build the cottages on the
condition that one able bodied man from each cottage was available to work on
the quarry on down the coalmine.
The first and largest cottage to be built, a consensus of 1700's shows there were twenty five people living in this one alone. Amongst the residents
were, domestic servants, scholars and colliery workers and their children. Legends
of the Black Horse gambling den still abound today. People gathered here for drinking
and gambling sessions due to its remote country location Eventually it had to
legitimize itself and became a licensed drinking pub around eighteen hundred and
fifty.
No Country pub would be without its ghost and the Black Horse is no exception.
When George Ridley went missing in 1803 nobody knew what had happened to him until
he was spotted roaming the corridors of the Black Horse pub during the early hours
of the morning. The first record of his presence dates back to 17th November 1807
when his imposing white figure appeared to be peering over the body of his sleeping
fellows and children. There have been numerous accounts of his presence in the
Black Horse. Some more recent ones state they have seen him smash beer glasses
in front of their eyes, doors mysteriously slamming, muddy boot-prints over freshly
mopped floors, and other baffling happenings late at night after the pub doors
are closed to the public. Nobody yet knows how the death of George Ridley came
about, but after further investigating the building history, we found that he
used to live there with his wife and nine children and another family. Both of
which were involved in the coal industry and worked down a local mine.
In 1926 Vaux Brewery bought the pub – at the time it was the oldest pub in their
portfolio. Sadly in 1960 the other cottages were given a condemned order due their
bad condition and only the Black Horse and two others remained.
The pub closed in 1980's and remained empty and derelict until it was rescued once again four years ago,
this time by a local who had previously been a drinker there for over thirty years,
it has been lovingly restored to its former glory and retains the charm and atmosphere
of a truly historic county pub.
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