the black horse

A story written by our own Barry Crosley

Published in the ‘Lancashire Post’ 18th March 2022

In the small village of Great Grimstone there was a large pond. In it was a reflection of the church and the Black Horse Inn. As there was no wind blowing and the water surface was without a ripple, the pond acted as a mirror. As I was feeling rather thirsty, I decided the time was right to see what refreshment was on offer.


I have passed through this village on numerous occasions, but have not previously had the opportunity to enter the inn. Turning away from the pond, I walked towards the old inn and I was impressed with the sign. This depicted an impressive illustration of a black horse, along with gold leaf lettering. Pushing the door open, I went inside. Ordering a pint of ale, the landlord drew it from an impressive array of beer taps. Bill the landlord exclaimed, "You are not from around here, are you?" "No just passing through," I answered, as I made payment and turned to find a seat.


As I looked around for a suitable place to sit, I noticed an elderly gentleman, who gave the impression of having had a hard working life. He was wearing rather tattered clothing and sporting a long white beard. The man was seated on a large leather armchair alongside a generous open fireplace situated at the far end of the room. I thought that the old gent may have had an interesting life to talk about. As I seated myself at a table close by, I introduced myself and he volunteered that his name was George, although everyone in the village knew him as ‘Old George’.

He had lived in Great Grimstone throughout his long life, working as a farm hand. Some of these farms were now long gone, having been sold to developers who built houses as second homes, which were killing the village community. Life in the village is not like it once was. There used to be plenty going on. The Annual Village Show where people sold their crafts, cakes and local produce. Visitors came from everywhere to find a bargain. There used to be ploughing matches, which George was involved in. The highlight of the year was the County Show, when exhibitors came from miles around to show off their best cattle, sheep and other animals. All this ended, due to rising costs and lack of interest as people found new things to pass the time of day.

George went on to explain that his daughter Brenda and his granddaughter Mary used to run the village post office and general store. Brenda and Mary used to know everyone in the area, including their likes and dislikes. Brenda knew their families and remembered their children growing up. Eventually, these young people also had to leave Great Grimstone due to the high cost of local homes.

As time went on, and the years went by, more of the local villagers left Great Grimstone to find work in the larger towns nearby. Following the exodus of the locals, the village was being taken over by more people purchasing second homes. This was not a problem during the summer, but in winter the place became like a ghost town. By this time the village store was finding fewer customers were coming in to the shop. Brenda was concerned that her income from the store was falling, and she was finding it difficult to cover the bills.

Eventually she had no option but to ask her daughter to try and obtain alternative employment. Mary was disappointed by this decision, but she realised that there was no other option available to her. On hearing of her predicament, the landlord of the Black Horse offered Mary some work be hind the bar. It was during this time at the Black Horse that Mary met up with a handsome young man named John. They went on a series of dates, until eventually John asked Mary to live with him in a nearby town. At first Mary was reluctant, as she was concerned about leaving her mother on her own. Following much thought, she decided that it was her life and did not want to be tied at home forever.

Now Betty realised that she had to be prepared to accept that she was living on her own. A few days later Betty was subjected to another blow. She heard of a planning application for a supermarket to be built on the outskirts of a town close to Great Grimstone. Betty was not happy at this news, and was prepared to oppose it in any way that she could. Despite many objections, the application was accepted, and work commenced.

The time came that Betty was least looking forward to. The supermarket opening date was announced, after which the village store had a decreasing number of people making use of its facilities, preferring the lower prices and offers at the new venue, and Betty was forced to close.

She became ever more lonely, especially since her daughter had left home. One day as she was feeling really low, her mind turned to start thinking of how she could put an end to it all. Betty locked herself in the garage, sat in the car and started the engine. Soon she was overcome by the exhaust gases and collapsed in the seat. Old George was passing and his attention was drawn to the sound of the engine running behind the locked door. He called the emergency services and Betty was rushed to hospital having been rescued just in time. I asked what had become of her. George replied that Betty was given employment at the supermarket which had destroyed her business. I then bade him farewell as I left the Black Horse...

A few years later, I was again in Great Grimstone. I entered the Black Horse just as it began to rain. Inside I looked around for ‘Old George’. Bill told me that he had sadly passed away. Suddenly a thunderstorm broke the silence and the lights went out as a flash of lightning lit up the darkened room to reveal a ghostly figure of George still in his favourite chair.