ANXIOUS fans of a hit TV series are desperate to know the fate of a Barnsley pub which featured in some episodes.
Devotees of Last of the Summer Wine - which was mainly filmed in Holmfirth - want to know what has happened to The Monkey at Thurgoland. Members of a global blog site say someone from America had suggested the inn has been demolished or bought for refurbishment.
Site member Neil Chalmers says bloggers - who come from around the world - are ‘hoping against hope’ that the pub has survived to live another day. Well, there is good news for the fans. The Monkey is still standing but is also the centre of a local mystery.
In an email to the Chronicle, Mr Chalmers says: “The members of the blog site are big fans of Last of the Summer Wine, in which The Monkey appeared several times.
“The bloggers are from far and wide, including Australia and America, and it is some from the latter who raised the question of the fate of The Monkey, trying to ascertain if the pub has been demolished or even been saved and bought for refurbishment.
“The pub means an awful lot to fans of the show. Some of the iconic episodes it appeared in are fondly remembered by fans.”
Thurgoland Parish Council chairman Bob Blythe confirmed that The Monkey is still standing, though long disused. And although the building was struck by a serious fire last August, Coun Blythe says it does not look damaged in any way.
“There is no hole in the roof or anything like that,” he said. “It looks OK to me.”
Formerly owned by Anthony Youel, the pub went up for sale a few years ago as he prepared to sell up for a new life in Cornwall.
The ‘for sale’ sign has gone and planning permission has been granted for more than one development all including retaining the pub and building additional properties on the site.
Bob added: “The Summer Wine cast and crew were definitely there on more than one occasion. It is strange the ‘for sale’ went, planning permission given on two occasions and yet nothing has happened. It is a mystery.”
