100 years of ‘on the hoy’ in the Toon
Nostalgia Editor WE step back in time to recall some of Newcastle’s smoky old drinking holes.
We’ve raided our picture archive and dug out some great photos from across the decades.
Our earliest picture shows stern-faced Victorian drinkers in Newcastle’s Adelaide Hotel, while the Pineapple, which would attract revellers with 1980s big hair and shoulder pads, brings us closer to modern times.
Most of the bars here are sadly no more, having fallen victim to the bulldozer, or having been converted into shops.
The Haymarket, Farmer’s Rest, Broken Doll and many more are gone. Others that are still with us have changed beyond recognition and have different names.
Of course, the pubs pictured here are just a fraction of those that have slaked the thirst of North Easterners for generations.
Our 1962 picture of the Crooked Billet on Scotswood Road, for example, shows a traditional boozer on a street which some argue used to boast 46 pubs.
The pub is ingrained into the British way of life.
Alehouses and taverns sprang up in medieval times, and by 1577 there were 24,000 across England.
By the late 1600s, the expanding coaching network and new turnpike roads saw a growth in the number of inns.
Later still, the “gin craze” problems of the 18th Century would ultimately lead to the 1830 Beer Act, sparking an explosion in the number of pubs.
By 1870 there were 112,000 bars across the land, leading to more regulations, like licensing hours and the temperance movement.
The “golden age” of pubs was ended by the early 20th century clampdowns and the World War One-inspired Defence of the Realm act which limited opening times -right until the 1980s.
Today, sadly, many pubs are struggling. Why?
Charlie Steel, who has written two books on the history of the pub, says: “It’s sad, obviously, but there are several reasons.
“You can look at the smoking ban and the price of beer but, in my opinion, it’s down to the growth of home entertainment - DVDs, computers, the internet. People are happy to stay at home now, rather than go to the pub.”
North Shields Public Houses, .Inns & Taverns Part One and Part Two by Charlie Steel, published by Summerhill Books, are both on sale for £9.99
Front: Newcastle Rotary Club members enjoying drinks in a pub after a meeting to discuss the economic crisis facing the region, 1938 (Photo by Humphrey Spender/Picture Post/Getty Images); Lazers Wine Bar, Grey Street, Newcastle, 1985