Marquis of Granby, Framwellgate Moor

The Marquis of Granby has an easily distinguishable floor plan and a number of old fittings including two hatches. The public bar on the left has a fine, possibly up to 100 year old, bar back with mirrored panels and the original till drawer, now full of sundry small items. The fixed seating could be 40+ years old and re-leatheretted, but the bar counter was replaced in the 1990s. A former bottle store at the rear left has been converted into a snug area and a wide archway cut for access from the bar. The fixed seating indicates this could have happened in the 1960s and there is an Art Deco-style wood surround fireplace which is difficult to date and may well have been imported from elsewhere. There is a splendid small room at the rear with older fixed seating and a hatch to the back of the bar. On the right is the games room, which also has a hatch for service. Sadly, the wall between the rear and right rooms was removed in the last century.

Across the road the Tap & Spile is run on very traditional lines with four small rooms and a passageway with hatch. There are few old fittings – indeed, the present counter is in a different position to the original one – but there is a wide choice of real ales in this Durham CAMRA Pub of the Year.