By Carol Davison
Back in 1956, Eddie Rowley put a set of overalls on over his collar and tie, stood on a chair and began to paint a scene above the fireplace in the back room of the Low Lights Tavern. The painting, from a drawing he had sketched whilst down on the fish quay, depicted a trawler called The Abergeldie moored alongside The Gut with an undeveloped South Shields in the background.
It isn’t known what prompted Eddie to commit this painting to the wall of the pub, but it is known that this wasn’t the first time a Rowley family member had taken a paintbrush to the walls of the Low Lights. As owners of Fleming’s decorating shop on Nile Street, old receipts showed that his grandfather had actually painted the pub’s rooms back in 1925.
When Danny Higney bought the Low Lights in 2016, the painting of The Abergeldie was long gone. Danny recalled that some of the old fishermen who still drank in the bar would ask about it from time to time and he was both frustrated that he was unable to answer them, and disappointed that part of the pub’s history was lost. As Eddie had painted the artwork directly onto the heavily textured anaglypta wallpaper, the presumption was that it had been scraped off or worn away when the pub fell into disrepair in the early 2000’s.
Danny had been running the bar for about a year when a dapper gentleman in a suit and tie was brought into the bar by his grandson to celebrate his 86th birthday. This turned out to be none other than Eddie Rowley. Eddie not only recounted his tale of creating the back room painting but had also brought along a black and white photograph which showed him putting the finishing touches to it. At last Danny was able to see the painting he had heard so much about, albeit on a photo, and meet the artist himself.
But that was not the end of the story. Remarkably, seven months ago, a fisherman walked into the Low Lights and asked if they would like a painting he had come across in his loft and you’ve guessed it, it was none other than the painting of The Abergeldie. Far from being destroyed, some of the locals had decided to save it when the pub was closing. With the utmost of care, the painted section of wallpaper had been peeled off and mounted on a piece of plywood, preserving it for posterity. Considering its journey, it was still in surprisingly good condition, though heavily nicotine stained from its many years on the back-room wall.
Danny, who values the history of his pub, is over the moon to have the painting returned, though sorry that Eddie, who passed away five years ago, didn’t live to see it. He plans to have the painting cleaned then hold a ceremony where The Abergeldie will be hung back above the fireplace where it belongs, both restoring a piece of Low Lights’ heritage and as a fitting tribute to Eddie Rowley.
