Celebrating Southwick's landowning gentry who became a household name
Ancestral roots of a famous British Prime Minister which can be traced back to Southwick have been honoured with a new unveiling.
Many of us have enjoyed a cup of Earl Grey tea, named after the era-defining former Prime Minister.
Now, a new plaque is raising a glass to his Southwick roots on his mother’s side.
As part of the ongoing work by Southwick Village Green Preservation Society to honour the village’s rich and colourful history, a new addition has joined its blue plaque trail.
Situated on the side of the former dentist’s on the north side of Southwick and funded by the people of the area, it celebrates the Grey family who lived in the Manor House on the north side of Southwick Green.
The history of the Grey family goes back hundreds of years, with a long military background.
Among the long line of Greys is a knight who fought alongside William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings in 1066.
Centuries later, during the English Civil War of the 1640s, George Grey of Southwick was a Captain of Foot in the Parliamentary Army, allied to the Scottish Army, and defeated the Royalist Army based in Newcastle.
In 1762, the sole heir to the family's Southwick estate, Elizabeth, married a fellow Grey, Sir Charles Grey of Howick, Northumberland, and she became Countess Elizabeth Grey, going on to have 15 children - one of whom became very famous indeed.
The couple lived in Howick Hall, Northumberland, and their son Charles Earl Grey became British Prime Minister, 1830-1834, a monument built in his honour still a landmark in Newcastle city centre today.
He led the Government in the passing of the Great Reform Act of 1832, which brought about Parliamentary reform, leading to modern democracy.
Prime Minister Charles Earl Grey also led the government to abolish slavery in the British Empire with the Act of 1833.
The Grey family's legacy also includes the creation of Earl Grey Tea, which was specially blended for the Earl's use.
As well as a blue plaque trail and historical panels in Southwick, Southwick Village Green Preservation Society, working with SARA, have produced Northumbria in Bloom award-winning flower gardens on Southwick Green.