hanes teulu,
The Sherburn you looked up is at least 12 miles away from Consett, on the other side of Durham City.
The Sherburn Road you found is in Consett and the Target Inn did become The Grey Horse but that was in the 19th Century. I have no real hard evidence of the existence of an earlier building but there are many persistent mentions of an older smithy on the site. Originally the pub also had a smithy so it is likely that the new pub was a replacement for an older business.
One of the stories suggests that the original building was a single storey thatched building and the blacksmith brewed his ale as a sideline to supplement his income. This was quite a common occurence in those days.
At the time the present building was erected, the steel works at Consett were in their infancy and the present town of Consett was just beginning to emerge from what had been a few scattered houses and farms. The pub was in easy walking distance of the steel works and, if the story is true, it was in a very good position for steel workers and farm workers alike.
A footpath emerges from the countryside very close to the pub and this is reputed to have been a drover's path. If true, this would have been an ideal place for drovers to rest and take refreshment and to have the metal cleats attached to the feet of the cattle as they approached the harder roads.
The cleats were like horse shoes but covered the whole hoof, thus preventing damage from pebbles and sharp stones.
It is all very circumstantial and I am trying to prove, or disprove, the story. If true, it means that The Target/Grey Horse is, by far, the oldest pub in Consett. If untrue, it means that that honour goes to The Black Horse which was renamed the Stirling Castle and is now demolished.
