A COUNTY DURHAM pub that once made 37 kinds of blades could see its beer garden extended according to plans submitted to Durham County Council.
The Crown and Crossed Swords Hotel, on Front Street in Shotley, Consett, could have its beer garden extended to make use of wasted ground that is currently heavily overgrown.
According to the Heritage Statement, improvements have already been made to the existing beer garden “including wider gate access for disabled use, a flatter and hazard free paved area on one level, and a more open friendly covid friendly layout.”
The proposed extended area of the garden will merge with the existing garden and follow the same layout and improvements.
The statement continues to say that the unused land “did nothing to complement the enjoyment and use of the building, it was a drab uninspiring area of grass.”
The hotel was first named “The Crown and Crossed Swords” by German settlers who came to the area in the 1680s to forge blades and pursue sword-making.
The sword makers produced 37 kinds of blades, including rapiers, scimitars and cutlasses and swords were said to be so flexible that the tip could bend back to the hilt without snapping and would spring back to straightness.
The Heritage Statement says that “according to legend Robert Oley, owner of the Crown and Crossed Swords Hotel at the time, was involved in a wager with several of his peers to make the best sword possible and was duly declared the winner.
“He was awarded a crown, and the Sword Inn was renamed The Crown and Crossed Swords in his honour.”
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