Elsie Marley

Elsie Marley was an alewife (an antiquated term for either the wife of the landlord, or the licensee of an inn or public house) in Picktree, a suburb of Chester-le-Street, County Durham, England.

Life and legend

Elsie Marley (her maiden name was Harrison), was the first wife of Ralph Marley, who kept a public house at Picktree, a suburb of Chester-le-Street, County Durham. This inn bore the sign of the Swan, with the appropriate motto:-

“The Swan doth love the water clear,<br/ > And so does man good ale and beer.”<br/ >

She was a handsome, buxom, bustling landlady, and by her efforts, made the Swan a financial success.

However, on the march towards Scotland during the Jacobite risings in 1745, the Dutch mercenary troops used the inn for target practice, and it remained derelict and in a battered condition for many years after.

Elsie suffered from a long and severe illness, and was found drowned in a pond near Bygo; it was presumed she had accidentally fallen in, and because of her weak state, had been unable to climb out.

Elsie had a son, Harrison Marley, who in turn had a son (Elsie’s grandson) called Ralph, who was known to be alive c. 1825.

The song and tune

Elsie Marley gave her name to a tune which is spirited and lively and was frequently used for dancing to at local country fairs.

The song “Elsie Marley” is about her and her life. It appears as “anonymous” in The Bishoprick Garland of 1834 compiled by Sir Cuthbert Sharp^[1] The song also appears in Rhymes of Northern Bards compiled by John Bell. It was recorded by the High Level Ranters on their album Ranting Lads, 1976 (Topic 12TS297).

The tune is referenced in the lyrics of another traditional North-East folk song, Byker Hill.^[2]

See also

• Geordie dialect words

References

External links

• The Bishoprick Garland 1834 by Sharp
• John Bell’s 1812 Rhymes of Northern Bards
• Front cover of “Rhymes of Northern Bards”