There are places that disappear and are gradually forgotten.
And then there are places like The Jungle.
Mention the name to a certain generation in North Shields and you’re unlikely to get a blank expression.
You’ll get a story.
Once the Northumberland Arms on New Quay, the building became one of the Fish Quay’s most talked-about drinking establishments — known to generations of locals and visiting sailors simply as The Jungle.
Now, for one day, Harriott & Solomon are bringing a little piece of it back.
On Sunday 25 October, visitors to the I Love North Shields Vintage Market at Salt Market Social will be able to step into an immersive photography experience inspired by The Jungle of the 1970s.
Choose a costume. Add some 1970s styling. Walk onto the set.
And, for 20 minutes, step into another version of North Shields.
MEET HARRIOTT & SOLOMON
The experience is the work of Mark Harriott and Emma Solomon, the creative partnership behind Harriott & Solomon.
Mark works across set design, styling and creative direction, creating theatrical environments and immersive experiences.
Emma is a portrait and brand photographer based in Whitley Bay, with people and storytelling at the heart of her photography.
Together, their work turns having your photograph taken into something much more playful.
Rather than simply standing in front of a backdrop, you become part of the scene.
For their next North Shields experience, they’ve chosen one of the town’s most colourful stories.
Welcome to The Jungle.
BEFORE THE JUNGLE
The story of the site stretches back more than two centuries.
North Tyneside’s conservation records show that New Quay was constructed by the Duke of Northumberland in 1806, providing North Shields with its first deep-water quay.
The development included the Northumberland Arms, described historically as a first-rate hotel.
By the end of the 19th century, this was no backstreet drinking den.
The hotel catered for the growing maritime and shipbuilding world around it, with bars, dining facilities, smoke rooms, a billiard room and spaces capable of hosting large dinners and functions.
But North Shields was changing.
The river was busy with ships and sailors arriving from around the world.
And the Northumberland Arms would develop a rather different reputation.
WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE
Over time, the once-grand hotel became known simply as The Jungle.
North Tyneside’s heritage records describe it as eventually becoming notorious as a destination for mariners coming ashore in search of entertainment.
The stories surrounding it became part of Fish Quay folklore.
Sailors. Music. Drinking. Fights. Characters. Nights out.
One particularly fascinating glimpse into life inside the Northumberland Arms survives in a University of Edinburgh study from 1952.
The research records seamen gathering there in the evenings and describes music, singing and use of the piano and radio.
It also records something more significant.
At a time when racial discrimination was commonplace elsewhere, the Northumberland Arms was described as somewhere Black sailors were welcomed, could socialise and were not continually pressured to buy drinks.
It’s a small detail in the much bigger story of the Quay, but an extraordinary glimpse of the people who actually passed through those doors.
WHY WAS IT CALLED THE JUNGLE?
Ask around North Shields and you’ll probably hear about the animals.
Local heritage accounts associate The Jungle nickname with stuffed animal heads and hunting trophies once displayed inside the building.
And those animals have certainly survived in people’s memories.
One recollection already shared with Harriott & Solomon includes a very distinct memory of a bison head.
Interestingly, historical accounts aren’t completely unanimous about where the nickname originated.
The 1952 study associated “The Jungle” with the fights that occasionally broke out there.
Perhaps that’s fitting.
Places like The Jungle exist somewhere between documented history, personal memory and local folklore.
And that’s exactly why those memories are worth recording.
THE JUNGLE IN THE 1970s
By the 1960s and 70s, the Northumberland Arms was a very different place from the respectable hotel of the previous century.
Memories survive of its bars, nightlife and characters, including recollections of a venue spread across several levels.
For some, The Jungle was notorious.
For others, it was simply somewhere they went on a Friday or Saturday night.
A place to drink, dance, work, meet friends and make the sort of memories that are still being told decades later.
The Northumberland Arms eventually closed in 1989 and the building was subsequently converted into apartments.
The pub disappeared.
The stories didn’t.
NOW YOU CAN STEP INSIDE
Harriott & Solomon aren’t trying to build a museum.
They’re doing something much more playful.
For their 20-minute immersive photography experience, visitors will choose from supplied 1970s costumes, receive styling and then step onto a specially created set inspired by The Jungle.
Think:
Immersive photo booth meets North Shields history.
For a short while, you don’t simply look at the past.
You become part of the picture.
And when the experience is over, you’ll step straight back into the I Love North Shields Vintage Market.
More than 50 independent traders across two floors, surrounded by vintage clothing, antiques, records, collectables, interiors, curiosities and one-off finds.
Add live North East music all day, food, drinks and the atmosphere of Salt Market Social, and it feels like rather a good home for The Jungle to make its temporary return.
DO YOU REMEMBER THE JUNGLE?
This is where we need your help.
Did you drink at The Jungle?
Did you work there?
Did you dance there, meet someone there or have a night you’ll never forget?
Do you remember the animal heads?
Perhaps your parents or grandparents talked about it.
Or perhaps there’s an old photograph, newspaper cutting or piece of memorabilia sitting in a drawer somewhere.
We would love to hear from you.
We’re looking for photographs, memories, stories and information about The Jungle and the people who passed through its doors.
Because the history of places like this doesn’t only live in archives.
It lives with the people who remember them.
We can’t wait to start sharing some of those stories through I Love North Shields.
Contact us at hello@ilovenorthshields.com.
THE JUNGLE IMMERSIVE PHOTOGRAPHY EXPERIENCE
Sunday 25 October 2026
Salt Market Social, North Shields Fish Quay
The Jungle is a 20-minute immersive photography experience created by Harriott & Solomon — Mark Harriott and Emma Solomon.
Book your spot here: markharriott@btinternet.com
1970s costumes and styling are provided.
Advance booking is required for the photography experience.
I LOVE NORTH SHIELDS VINTAGE MARKET
The experience takes place during our I Love North Shields Vintage Market: Autumn Edition.
Sunday 25 October 2026
10am–7pm
Salt Market Social, North Shields Fish Quay
Expect:
50+ handpicked independent traders across two floors · vintage fashion · antiques · records · collectables · interiors · curiosities · live music all day · food · drinks
Vintage Market entry is FREE.
Come for the vintage.
Stay for the social.
And, for 20 minutes this October…
step back inside The Jungle.
