Usually known as 'Marsden Rock House', this song is thought to have been written by William Mitford and refers to a popular venue for day trippers to Marsden Rock. Built into the cliff face at Marsden the pub was run by landlord Peter Allen, famous for keeping pigeons, pigs and a pair of tame ravens. A popular subject for local song smiths there are a number of songs about this little pub in the cliff. This song forms part of a short run series of 'Shields' songs that were published some time in the 1850s by the Shields Gazette editor, William Brockie. The songs reflect the characters, landscape and industry in the small coastal towns of North Shields, South Shields, Tynemouth and Cullercoats. Famous for their fishwives, press gangs and tars (sailors), these towns, lying at the mouth of the River Tyne, were the gateway for trade in and out of the region. This small pamphlet forms no.3 of a series thought to consist of only 3 publications. Bound together in one volume held by South Shields Library, no.s 1-2 are complete with no.3 lacking all before p.17., and all after p.32. Songs are attributed to various authors in manuscript notes throughout the series, revealing that publisher William Brockie also contributed to the content of the publication. |
