Peter Allan (landlord)

Peter Allan (6 September 1799 – 31 August 1849) was an English recluse and eccentric who carved rocks in the Marsden Bay at Marsden, South Shields into a house.

Early life

Born to Peter Allan, a shoemaker in

coast.

Marsden

After becoming infatuated with and working at the quarries near his property, he decided to turn a limestone cliff in the Marsden Grotto in the Marsden Bay into an actual house. He carved out fifteen rooms which connected to a farmhouse and tavern (The Grotto) on the cliff above.

He mostly remained with his wife and children in the rock and did not often visit the surrounding towns. He also saved a number of boats offshore and a group of children from drowning. In 1848 the

remains, connected to a hotel.

Controversy

Although the history has some documentary backing, some insist that the story is exaggerated. Alan Robinson wrote a book in the 1970s denying the notion that Allan was a hermit.^[1]

External links

• Grotto - pictures and history of the Allan, the pub, and the area
• Mysteries 1 - Mysteries of the Grotto

References

• Sidney Lee, ‘Allan, Peter (1799-1849)’, rev. H. C. G. Matthew, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004. The first edition of this text is available at Wikisource: "Allan, Peter (1798-1849)" . Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.