During its heyday, North Shields was known as “the most drunken town in England”. A dubious reputation gained in the 1800s when the town had more than 200 pubs serving thousands of rowdy customers.
The Low Town was a maze of winding streets and alleyways. One writer described it as “the lounging place of Jack Ashore”, the stereotypical drunken sailor. Renowned for muggings, murders and prostitution, its dimly-lit taverns were no place for a respectable person!
Today much has changed. Names like The Fountainhead, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, The Aquatic Arms and The Gardeners have been lost in time. The Northumberland Arms and The Chain Locker have been converted into smart apartments or business offices. The Golden Fleece, once an office for North Sea pilots, and latterly The Port Hole pub, is now a design office. Look above the main doorway and you can still see the golden fleece logo.
I live on the site of an old herring smokehouse close to Clive Street, where there were once 25 pubs on just one street. So let’s step back in time and go for a walk along the riverside to find somewhere for a drink. We’re going to be spoiled for choice!
The Northumberland Arms, once known as ‘The Jungle’, was one of the lower town’s most infamous pubs.
“You divvent want to go inside after dark, bonny lass,” was the advice given to me by a work colleague in the late 1970s. Undeterred, I ventured inside and felt like a lamb to the slaughter. It was renowned for its rowdy locals and “women of ill repute”.
Originally designed as a town house for the Duke of Northumberland, by 1822 it was being run as the Northumberland Arms pub. The new landlords kept the Duke’s collection of stuffed animal heads lined up along its walls, which earned it the nickname, ‘The Jungle’.
Next on our route is the long demolished Cock Tavern on Clive Street, infamous for cock fighting in the early 1800s. Then on to Liddell Street where you’ll still see the Prince of Wales, with its large red “dolly’“ outside. Dating back to 1674, it was once a favourite meeting place of the Royal Order of the Buffaloes.
Further along Bell Street no trace remains of The Swedish Arms, named after the large numbers of Swedish seamen who arrived in the 1850s. The once busy Seven Stars was another popular draw for sailors coming off the boats on the quay. Today it’s been swept away to be replaced by modern flats.
Nearby was the “Cabbage Patch”, a notorious drinking den and the nearest thing North Shields had to an illegal “shabine”. This unlawful watering hole was hidden inside a vegetable store room in William Wight’s former grocery emporium. Fishermen would come in off the boats after an overnight shift and enjoy drinking with their mates inside the store room, perched on sacks and crates of food. A blind eye was turned to this overnight carousing, and it was easy for the men to sneak out just before the store opened in the morning. Today, Wight’s has sadly closed and has been transformed into a legal drinking establishment – Allard’s on the Quay.
Let’s carry on walking to the Fishnet Tavern, formerly known as the Staiths House, and before that the New Dolphin. In 1998, the Star of Peace fishing boat picked up a large whale bone in its nets, which still stands outside the pub.
Turn up Brewhouse Bank and head inside the Low Lights Tavern, said to be the oldest pub in North Shields. During Victorian times it was sometimes used for inquests due to its proximity to the waterfront. It’s gained massive street credibility through its association with musicians – most notably Sam Fender – and real ale aficionados.
If you can manage another drink, head up Brewhouse Bank to the How Do You Do on Hudson Street. It was originally the site of a pub called the King’s Head, notorious for a court case involving the unlawful harbouring of bottles of rum which had evaded customs duty in the early 1940s. In the 1970s it was called the Wooden Dolly, one of my all-time favourite North Shields’ pubs.
At this point you might like to stop for some food. I recommend the panoramic view across the Tyne from the pub restaurant.
The Lost Pubs of North Shields – Smith’s Dock
It’s hard to believe that Smith’s Dock was once one of the busiest drinking neighbourhoods in North Shields.
The area boasted over 25 public houses in the mid-late 1800s, propelled by the river’s industrial boom.
Smith’s Dock’s famous ship repair yards were established in 1851, although they have even longer roots. At its peak, the Dock area employed around 5,000 people.
Local folklore tells how drinks would be lined up on the bar ready for the dock workers, who would rush in and drink two or three pints during their 30-minute lunch break.
Thirsty Work
Opposite the docks, the Bull Ring, notorious as a bull baiting ring in the 1700s, was a hotbed of drinking culture. Pubs like the Dock House, Hylton Castle, The Lamb, The Wheatsheaf and the Centurion were huddled together along the narrow back streets.
Today the shipbuilding repair industry has long gone and the terraced houses and pubs have been swept away.
The Crane House is one of the few structures still standing. After the pub closed in 2004, it was converted to flats, but its splendid glazed tile frontage remains.
The Wolsington House is another rare survivor. There has been a public house on the site since 1834 when it was known as John Veitch’s Alehouse.
This was demolished to make way for the present building in 1902. It served Smith’s Dock’s legion of workers and local people over the First and Second World Wars.
Sadly, the pub closed 20 years ago and remains up for sale. Today this public house with superb views of the Tyne lies boarded up, a ghostly symbol of a different age.
The Lost Taverns
Not far away, high above the riverfront lie two of Smith’s Dock’s “lost inns”, close to Ropery Stairs.
The now demolished Tyne Inn on Tennyson Street was once a popular small pub with a colourful past. In 1883 the Shields Daily News reported the accidental shooting of a female customer by one of the landlord’s sons, Thomas Wood, who was showing off with a loaded revolver!
Nearby, the Berwick Arms on the corner of Trinity Terrace was once the haunt of colourful characters including author, Robert Westall. The pub called time in the late 1900s, another casualty of the closure of Smith’s Dock. It’s been converted into housing but its striking facade of copper, yellow and green faience glazed tiles can still be seen.
Back on the waterfront, there are traces of one of North Shields’ old breweries. High Brewery has been partly demolished but its original warehouse has been converted into modern apartments. Although the building is much altered, the old brewery sign remains at the top of the brickwork.
The lost pubs of North Shields continue to fascinate us today although they have disappeared off the face of the landscape.
Sadly, their memory is now fading fast…
References
Read the longer feature on the Tammy Tour Guide blog
