Queens Pub in Hyde Remembers Customers With Wall Mural

A landlady has offered families and friends a special way to remember the loved ones who once frequented her Tameside pub.

Gaynor Duffy, 54, who runs the Queens in Hyde has commissioned a local artist to paint a memory tree mural on a wall in the pub’s beer garden. Now she has invited those who want to remember a customer who has passed away to inscribe their names on the painting.

“I felt for a long time that as a pub we should have some way of remembering the people who would come to The Queens. Our customers are the heart and soul of the pub and I wanted their names to live on. So, having seen various murals around Manchester city centre, I thought we could use a blank wall at the back of the beer garden for the memorial tree.”

The names which have already appeared range from those who have lost their lives to Covid, to others who passed away due to other causes of ill health or of general old age.

“One young man came in and wrote down the name of his grandad who had drunk at our pub for around 40 years,” adds Gaynor, who has worked for Joseph Holt for over 20 years. “I think physically writing down the name is itself very therapeutic as well as a lovely long term way to keep them in mind. It has certainly become a talking point already.”

The hand painted mural was painted by Mia Pike, who studies at Salford University. She completed the work in under four weeks.

Gaynor, who has run the Queens for five years, advertised for an artist via social media. She selected Mia’s design because of the way colourful and skilful way she incorporated Holts beers and the Manchester bee into her proof.

The Queens, is one the largest pubs in the town centre. The enclosed beer garden is especially popular since it is something of a sun trap.

Adds Gaynor: “The tree is already something of a talking point. We never want to forget our customers and the mural is a way of honouring their memory and the important part they played in the success of our pub.”