The Triton's early coaching days.
The Triton is not the original name of the pub  - this building, probably erected at the beginning of the 1700s, was certainly a pub by 1754 - the date of the oldest records associated with it. In those days it was called the Wounded Tiger and later as  The Half Moon, a name that lives on in the village pub down the road in Elloughton. (That one is a much newer construction from 1939 or so, and built by Hull builders Robinson and Sawdon).

By 1800, the Half Moon at Brantingham was owned by a Captain Fleetwood Shaw and was by then a well known coaching inn  sat by the side of  what was then the main road to Hull. Horses would be changed and customers fed and watered here - the next inns along the road being The Fox and Coney in South Cave to the west and the Green Dragon in Welton to the east. You can still see the old road to Welton opposite  - its now gated (to keep the geese and horses in!). 

The road past the Triton (officially called Ellerker Road, although there is no signpost confirming this) was replaced by 'Cave Road' about 3/4 mile to the south near Ellerker in the early 1920s. Cave Road runs from the roundabout near Brough station  roughly NW along the old Roman route to York, until it gets to South Cave (where it is then known as Brough Road!). Cave Road was the main artery into HJull for much of the 20th Century and in turn was bypassed by the new A63 dual carriageway in the 1970s.  These developments mean that Brantingham is now a sleepy village, very pretty and largely unchanged in appearance for maybe a hundred years. The central feature of the village is still the centuries old duck pond, with a delightful green around it, and impressive 17th century homes such as Brantingham House and Brantingham Hall.  Also worthy of mention is nearby Brantinghamthorpe Hall, a building which has an impressive if somewhat turbulent history with royal links in the past and some dubious activities in recent years. 

Brantingham has long been popular with walkers due to its strategic location on the main road in and out of Hull, and some of the beautiful walking country around. It also offers one of the most challenging uphill climbs - Spout Hill which gives wonderful views over the Humber towards Trent Falls. Guaranteed to help you work up a thirst, or hunger.

The Tiger
Some time in 1830s the pub became called The Tiger -  the creatures had been caught and brought to England for the first time just a few years earlier and one of the licensees, Richard Storr Junior, who was a wheelwright and a grocer as well as a publican, bought a stuffed one which was hung on the wall in the parlour and he changed the name of the pub to it. Taxidermy wasn't perhaps very advanced in the 1800s, and the carcass soon became a bit of an embarrassment. One license records the name as "The Wounded Tiger" and there is no record of when the old Tiger was finally removed from the pub, but by 1851 the name had been change and it was being run by a gentleman called Thomas Fleming as The Half Moon once again.

The Triton
In the early 1870s, the Sykes family, who were renowned East Yorkshire landowners, bought the entire Brantinghamthorpe estate, on which the pub stood. Christopher Sykes, who was also the local MP rebuilt an old mansion at Brantinghamthorpe a few hundred yards from the pub. 19 bedrooms and a tunnel connecting to its extensive stable block just up the hill (impossible to climb in winter), this became the scene for many lavish parties and the stories of excess are legendary, including visits from the Prince of Wales. The Triton, an ancient god of the sea from Greek mythology reflecting the Sykes' many maritime links,  was included on their family coat of arms, and the pub takes its name from that.  Christopher's brother, Sir Tatton Sykes, also named the pub on his own estate at Sledmere as The Triton. As far as we know, these are the only two pubs in England bearing the name. 

In 1877 George Watson of Ellerker took over the pub and operated a successful agricultural engineering business from the area in front of the pub. There was a huge old barn, demolished in about 1972 with the stone being used to form the front wall along the car park. After George  died in 1889 his wife Mary-Ellen  took over the pub running it until she died in 1927 aged 72.  At that time the pub was furnished with wooden high-backed settles and spittoons, and had a red brick floo, parts of which are still in place and were seen in the recent refurbishment work.   Beer was served in huge enamel jugs from the kitchen, which later became known as The Tap Room - thats the area of the Lounge bar next to the road that's now carpeted. The fireplace which now has a stone surround had ovens at either side.  In one of the ovens they kept a melodeon, usually a concertina like instrument that was often played by one of the local farmers.  There was also a smoke room with a piano, though this seems to have only been used for very special occasions.  

After Mary-Ellen's death in 1927 her three sons ran both the agricultural business and the pub - Tom was still in charge when he died in 1957 aged 79.  His widow Alice ran the pub for a short time after Tom's death and then in 1960 a former policeman called Jess Wood took over. The Watsons had always ran the pub as a secondary business to their agricultural engineering activities, for which they had steam traction engines which were a prominet feature of The Triton for about eighty years. In the mid-sixties the agricultural business, by now known as Yorkshire Lawn Mowers, closed and by the early 1970s a big change at the Triton was imminent:

GHOSTS?
With a building thats almost 300 years old (maybe even older - there are no accurate records to precisely date The Triton) its somewhat inevitable that there are many tales of ghostly apparitions, hauntings and other manifestations.   Shortly after re-opening, The Ruslings invited a well known paranormal expert  who is also very psychic, to look closely at The Triton and see if there was "anyone there?" She spent a couple of hours in the premises while th it was closed and subsequently reported a variety of spirits were indeed in the building and pretty active.

Among these was a lady in 18th century dress, perhaps as a parlour-maid with a long black dress and a little white  hat, tending the fire in the bar, a fire which we know has been there since the late 1700s.  The psychic also saw and spoke to a little boy of about 6 or 7 years old who was laid ill in bed upstairs - the room layout upstairs hasn't been changed much for many years, unlike downstairs. There were other apparitions, some of which matched pretty closely many of the stories that have been told about the Triton for some years now. 

And not just inside The Triton either:  a man in a tricorn hat and wearing an old cloak was seen sat on a brown horse outside a bar window, looking in. This is a common story among older customers who say that he is someone who is seen at The Triton and near other old pubs quite regularly; he is looking for his wandering wife (nothing has changed there then!).  Or could it have been Dick Turpin who we know did ride that same road outside - indeed, he was arrested at the Ferry Inn in Brough and kept at the Green Dragon in swelton to await being taken to York where he was arraigned and later hanged for highway robbery.  Until the major redevelopment in the 1970s, the only entrance to the Triton yard at the front was immediately by that same window - today there is only a pedestrian entrance there and a flower bed.  Our ghostbuster also saw a man upstairs wailing that he is innocent - which fits in with a legend that The Triton was a venue for some form of summary trial in the 1700s.

Big Changes in the 1970s
The well known local grocery chain Jacksons took over the Triton at that time and developed it as a restaurant with very high standards.  They also bought several other local pubs and developed excellent dining facilities at each - the Ferguson Fawcett at Walkington, the Pipe And Glass at South Dalton and the Dacre Arms at Brandesburton. Jackson own contracting firm cleared the area around the pub, particularly the old rambling range of farm buildings and old barns,  and created the huge 112 space car park you see today, plus the secret beer garden at the back, the orchard and the field alongside which is available for camping.  Jacksons also constructed a huge conservatory alongside the Tritonwhere the pig sties once stood. The glass roof is still in place, but is now hidden behind a large stained glass panel and a wooden tongue and grooved ceiling. This was so successful at attracting diners that a new restaurant and kitchen was built alongside.

Until this time The Triton had been a simple rural one bar operation, with a dartboard in one corner and increasingly ramshackle outbuildings at the front. It was closed on Sundays, having a 'six day licence' as the landowner was a staunch methodist who didn't approve alcohol at al, and certainly not on The Lord's Day.  Jacksons aquired the freehold of the land, some two acres, which forms a cornerstone at the south end of the village, and had the licence changed to a full seven days a week one.

Yorkshire Puddings and The Triton
The new Triton kitchen was a major installation and included huge ovens and plate storage etc. This was essential, not only because The Triton was an immediate and rip-roaring success, but because The Triton became the base for Jackson's extensive outside catering operations.  Food would b e prepared at The Triton for various functions and operations elsewhere in the county - the Triton kitchens became a 24 hour a day operation with meals being prepared there, then taken to the venues by Jacksons' fleet of bread delivery vans.  One of the most revered products they prepared at the Triton was the Yorkshire pudding - and today these are still made and sold nationwide as "Aunty Beaty's Yorkshire Puddings, by a company called TRYTON FOODS.  The Yorkshire Pudding is still made at The Triton too of course - each Sunday morning our chefs prepare gallons of mix and start ladling this out into the  baking trays ready for the Sunday Lunch diners - what is a British Sunday Lunch without the Yorkshire Pudding?  They are also very popular for wedding breakfasts; the Triton gives the Bride exactly what SHE wants on her special day, and many of them choose to have Yorkshire Puddings with their main meal. (A great way to celebrate the end of a diet  to get into that dress?)

Nineties and Naughties
In 1990 Bill Carter and his wife Bridgett became licensees while the Triton was by now owned by Blayne Jefferson, who also bought the Dacre Arms from Jacksons.  Around 2001, Blayne sold the Triton to Shaun and Carol Rennison who appointed former chef Peter McGovern and his wife Lesley as managers.  2006 was an unhappy year for the Triton and its various ghosts with several managers taking charge for short periods, none of them successfully. By November that year the Triton was closed and abandoned by its operators. Though only for a few weeks  . . more big changes were on the way.

It was mid November 2006 when Paul and Anne Rusling entered the Triton picture.  Experienced publicans,  they had run night clubs, pubs and an hotel in London and the South East in the 1970s and 1980s although they had since been out of the licensed trade for 25 years. During that time Paul had been running various radio (broadcasting) projects while Anne ran the family home in East Yorkshire. Now they wanted a change in life, something they could work at together and without Paul having to spend lengthy periods away from home.  They decided that a return to the licensed trade was a good move and had been looking for a suitable pub-restaurant operation. They had even got so far as to placing a huge deposit on an operation just a few miles away and on the day they were due to exchange contracts they heard that The Triton MIGHT be available.

After a few weeks negotiations they took over in December 2006 and then spent four months and a substantial six figure sum refurbishing the pub. This extensive work included rebuilding the infrastructure, drains, electrics, floors, and most things upwards.  The initial work took almost four months and cost just over £400,000, finally reopening for business at Easter 2007. They plan being here until the  middle of the 21st century or so which is evidenced by the further sums they have since invested into The Triton, rebuilding the toilets and setting out a new terrace with heated jumbrellas that which runs along the front of the building. Work has also been under taken to improve the appearance of the car park and illuminate the building and its environs. 

The Future?
The Triton property includes a large field to the south and a former orchard to the south west.  Among the plans being considered by the Ruslings are a 24 bedroom hotel annex plus extending the size of the ballroom function room to be able to cater for about double its current capacity.

With acknowledgements for some of the historical material to Denny H. Lincoln, whose book "Elloughton-cum-Brough and Brantingham in Distant Days" gives an excellent history of the Triton and surrounding area. Other information provided by former staff and customers of The Triton.