Worksop: Tributes paid to well-known former owners of Marquis of Granby pub

Tributes have been paid to a popular Worksop couple who ran a pub in the town.

Jack and Ethel Cooper were the landlord and landlady of the Marquis of Granby, Bridge Place, in the 1970s.

Sadly, Ethel passed away in January and Jack died in October 2013.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Jack’s son, Peter Cooper, said: “After the war Jack married my mother Ethel in the same year as the Queen married.”

“Both worked at the Foresters Arms as well as jobs at Worksop and Retford brewery where Jack was a drayman and Ethel a cleaner. Later they worked part-time at Normanton Inn.”

In 1969, the tenancy of the Marquis of Granby was available and they became landlord and landlady.

The pair later became prominent members of the local community after raising money for numerous charities.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“The pub became very popular in the 1970s and was a busy Friday night venue and meeting place for the young drinkers of Worksop who met in the lounge bar,” Peter said. “The pub had many local characters as customers. One of Worksop Town’s most famous supporters ‘Tigers Charlie’ could often been seen enjoying a pint in the taproom. In the early days of the club, the pub was once used as the changing room for Worksop Town.”

“The football team toured Belgium and Spain. It was in Spain that some players found themselves locked up by the police after an interaction with local youths. It was Jack who bailed them out to get them back to the UK in time for work. That tour was talked about for many years after and cost Jack a lot of money.”

After leaving the pub, Jack and Ethel began a new business venture and ran stalls on Worksop and Retford markets. When Jack’s eyesight failed, they had to stop and retire from 60 years of commercial life.

Peter added: “All that whose lives they touched will miss them.”

Related topics: