Jackie: I strongly suspect that parts, at least, of your story have been romanticised or exaggerated in the telling and re-telling, as often does happen. I don't know enough to comment on the Bowes of Bradley connection, though I would point out that it would have had to have been Bradley near Wolsingham, and NOT Bradley near Crawcrook, nor Bradley near Leadgate. I have never heard of "Great House" at Great Lumley. It is the sort of name that might be used colloquially (though even then it doesn't ring true for this region). Of course, the "greatest" - ie the largest and most magnificent - house connected with Lumley has to be Lumley Castle, but that, now a Hotel, belongs to the Lumley family, Earls of Scarborough, who have had the estate since before the Norman Conquest. You mention Gibside. That is another major estate, near Rowlands Gill, towards the NW corner of the old Co Durham. It originally (13th century) belonged to the Marleys of Marley Hill, then it was inherited from them by the Blakiston family, passing from them by marriage to the Bowes-Lyon family, descendants of the main line of the Co Durham Bowes family of Streatlam. The Bowes-Lyons are Earls of Strathmore and Kinghorn and the late Queen Mother was a daughter of one of the later Earls. Some time ago the Earl of Strathmore gave Gibside to the National Trust, who are the current owners. Gibside has never been in the ownership of anyone named Grieve. Highfriars is most familiar to local people as the name of a street (High Friar Street) in Newcastle, named after the Friars of a pre-reformation monastery in Pilgrim Street, and leading from there towards St Andrew's church, passing originally just within the northern stretch of the Town Wall. It was cut into two pieces by the Grainger/Dobson improvements of the mid-nineteenth century, around Grey's Monument, and the largest (western) piece was obliterated in the early 1970s by the Eldon Square shopping centre, within which one Mall is still called "High Friars". However, if we are thinking of the district around Gibside we have to think in terms of Friarside, a much smaller estate, adjacent and to the west of that of Gibside and next to the River Derwent. There is, indeed a High Friarside and a Low Friarside, the latter including the ruined remains of a small chapel, the home of the mediaeval Friar(s) after whom it was named. One of the Friars there must have been named John and known as Jock (was he Scottish, I wonder?), because the place is sometimes called in old documents, Friarjohnside or even Friarjockside. I wonder whether what we might have is a family who worked as servants, or perhaps as tenant farmers at these grand houses or on their estates, in turn. I have come across lots of cases where servants have become "owners" as stories about them have gradually become embellished. I can only give you the standard advice, set out in all reputable family history text-books - "work step by step from the known into the unknown, always keeping an open mind and never making any assumptions not backed up by reference to original documents". Geoff Nicholson In a message dated 28/08/2007 08:54:50 GMT Daylight Time, [email protected] writes: Am looking for a birth date and any information for Jacob Grieve of Durham. He was an attorney-at-law and he married Jane Bowes, daughter of Thomas Bowes esquire of Bradley Hall. Also they had a daughter Elizabeth Mary Grieve who was christened on 19 Sept 1759 and who in turn married Robert Taylor. Any information regarding Elizabeth and Robert also appreciated. I do know that Robert was a divinity student but was never fully ordained as when his father, Anthony, died and Robert had to give up the church and look after the family estate. According to a letter written by their great great granddaughter Robert the family estate was the Great House, Great Lumley. They had 10 children who grew up in this house, the house of which I can find no history. Also, Elizabeth M Grieve was orphaned early but was left by her mother two estates named Gibside and Highfriars. Now, I can find Gibside, but I cannot find Highfriars. Any takers on this?