The Marquis of Granby - recently restored and the only listed building in Framwellgate thanks to this absolutely gorgeous frontage which is around 170 years old.

The pub is said to be the first in the village, named after the Lt. General in charge of the cavalry during the Seven Years War. He apparently set them up as public and when they reached the age when they couldn’t serve, which is why you find many pubs named so around the country. I’m not really sure how he did this mind - bought the land and loaned it back to them?

It’s said to have been established in the early 19th century, but was certainly here in the 1850s. At this time the publican was a George Comforth who had lodging rooms upstairs probably for those travelling up and down the Great North Road - a profitable venture. A Mr John Lewins had the pub for some 37 years too and was previously in charge of the woodwork operations for the sinking of the Framwellgate Moor Pit.

Interestingly, there was also a Fives wall behind the pub. Fives was a bit like Handball and was incredibly popular in pit villages alongside Quoits, which was also held here. There’s only a few surviving purpose built today and sadly I’m not sure if this one survives. Quoits was certainly played in the same place, and on the 1890s Ordnance Survey map a yard is shown at the rear with the yard for Fives and an open court. Matches were held predominantly between the 1880s and 1890s, with handicaps through the year.

The Granby Hotel is advertised for let in 1887 with a frontage of 21 and a whole complex of facilities. A bar, taproom, parlour, sitting room, 4 bedrooms, large lumber room, foresters and yearly club room, kitchen, large washhouse, extensive brick-paved cellar, 3-stall stable, quoit ground, yard, piggeries and outbuildings as well as kitchen garden.

Up until about a year ago this place was still boarded up, but the stuff had a bit of love recently with this paintwork and restoration. It used to be a proper traditional Samuel Smith pub, but not sure about it these days?