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A Beerhouse, a Bear and a Charity Fundraiser
For a number of years a photo has existed in my collection of The Marquis of Granby beer house, Peterborough which I have reproduced, left. Although there was no date on the photo it was decided that it must have been taken sometime before the First World War judging from the clothing. The identity of the people outside the pub would however remain a mystery for some years, but more of that in a moment. Some of the pub's history was known through the usual  sources, for instance we know that the first reference to it is in the Enclosure awards of 1811 when the owner was Lord Viscount Milton (presumably connected with Milton Estates who still own large tracts of the area and a few pubs as well). The landlord at this time was John Wells. By 1862 the pub was leased to the Phoenix Brewery and following the sale of the brewery, its successor Cutlack & Co. The rent at this time was £16.14s a year. We next see a mention in 1870 when the publican, Thomas Bonnett was fined for serving after time, a situation which occurs many times in the Victorian newspaper accounts of Peterborough pubs!
Although its provenance as a beerhouse goes back to at least 1811 the history of the building itself goes back much further. This area of Peterborough which is to the east of the present Cathedral was the site of the original St John the Baptist Church in the city. By the 14th century this area had become a slum quarter and continued as such until the slum clearances of the 1960s. Being close to the River Nene there was also the constant threat of flooding. In 1402 the Bishop of Lincoln gave permission for a new church to be built in the Market Square where it remains to this day. This explains why there were at one time two St John's Streets, although only one now remains. The Marquis had served as the vicarage for the church and may have continued for sometime after the demise of the church until being utilised as a beerhouse.
So who are the characters outside the pub? Their identities would have remained a mystery if hadn't been for a chance enquiry from someone looking for a photo of the Marquis for his mother who had a family connection with the place. After I had copied the photo and sent it to our enquirer I received a letter from his mother Emily Lowther who gave me some illuminating information.
Mrs Lowther's grandmother was the landlady and was called Emily Shaw (Granny Shaw to the young Emily) and ruled the house with a certain strictness. She would start her day with a half pint of beer containing a raw egg, this she said would give her the strength to do the job she loved so much. The beer house was also a lodging house and the boarders were many and varied. Many of which were street entertainers and on one occasion a German band lodged there. Emily was said to be a very kind and compassionate lady and would feed anyone who came along for shelter. Parents and children would arrive cold and hungry after walking for miles in bitterly cold weather, the children's feet tied with rags. It was not unusual for Emily to give away her own children's shoes and warm clothes to these itinerant unfortunates. Emily's husband who was 20 years older than her was less compassionate and would give her a telling-off for being so generous. Emily was widowed at an early age and had six surviving children having lost two others in infancy.
B eing in charge of a beerhouse with such a wide variety of customers and lodgers it is fair to assume that occasional trouble broke out and Emily had to 'fight like a man' to keep order. One particular incident resulted in her dragging a troublesome drinker out into the back yard and throwing him over the garden wall, giving him several broken ribs in the process. The police had said to her 'don't bother sending for us Mrs Shaw, we know you can deal with it'.
Another incident that occurred concerned a Russian man and his dancing bears. The act had been known around Peterborough for some time and they had turned up in other places including London, where our photo was taken. Over time the act was reduced to one bear and it was during this period that the Russian would lodge at The Marquis, the bear would be accommodated in the stables at the rear of the pub tethered to a metal ring in the floor. Each evening the Russian would take the bear a half pint of beer for its supper. On one particular night the bear had decided that enough was enough and his lot as a dancing bear was not a happy one. Having broken free from his chain the bear took to demolishing the interior of the stables before making his escape. The problems of having a mad bear on the loose were all too apparent and an order was given to call the police and for them to bring a gun. This being complied with the bear was shot before anyone suffered a mauling. A sad end to a sad existence.
This presented the Russian with two problems. The first problem was that he had no livelihood as his means of support had been shot dead. The second was what to do with a dead bear. Luckily there existed at this time a public house in Long Causeway called The Salmon & Compasses which for many years had attracting custom with its large collection of curios and stuffed animals. Mr Charles Guest the landlord took ownership of the bear and had him stuffed and mounted to add to his already extensive collection. The bear was occasionally wheeled out of the pub to raise money for charity, in the accompanying picture he was used to raise funds for the mining disaster of 1913 in Senghenydd South Wales. He was also mounted on a wagon for the Peace Day celebrations in 1919.
So what happened to The Marquis of Granby? The place was eventually demolished and several items of interest were found. The first was a large wooden box hidden in the wall which may have been the parish chest from when the building was used as the vicarage. A sword was also found embedded in the wall and if rumours are true there were remains of a tunnel heading towards the cathedral. Although stories of tunnels under pubs seems to be a fairly common!
And what became of The Salmon & Compasses? Eventually the place closed in 1928 and was eventually demolished. What happened to the bear and the rest of the contents of the pub remains a mystery. Are there any stuffed bears out there residing in pubs?
And what happened to Emily Shaw? After leaving the pub she moved to a nearby house with her family and in the 1920s she was scratching a living as a rag & bone trader wheeling her cart around the streets of Peterborough pawning her wedding ring when times got hard. She died in 1959.
Top picture Page 18: L-R Unknown, Mr & Mrs Brown (Emily Shaw's parents), unknown, Emily Shaw's daughter, Emily Shaw, unknown
STEVE WILLIAMS
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