10 institutions that have stood test of time
SO many well-loved North East shops, cinemas, pubs, nightclubs and the like have come and gone over the decades.
Bur what of those local names that have stood the test of time?
Here, we salute 10 Tyneside institutions that have fed, entertained, dressed or served us for generations.
■■1. GREGGS:
Today there are more than 1,600 stores nationwide.
Formerly known as Greggs of Gosforth, the company was founded by John Gregg and baked its first sausage rolls on the eve of World War Two in 1939.
The first shop opened in 1951 in Gosforth and since then the company has gone from strength to strength.
■■2. DICKSONS:
Famed for its belly-busting saveloy dips, pork butcher Dicksons began life as a single shop in South Shields in 1953.
Last year the Chronicle reported the firm aimed to have 40 stores operating by June 2019, as sales soared by 12% to top £11.9m.
■■3. MARK TONEY:
It was in 1902 that Antonio Marcantonio, later to be known as Mark Toney, came to Tyneside from Picinisco, a small mountain village near Rome, with his young family.
They began making ice cream and set up shop in Newcastle’s Grainger Market.
More than a century and four generation later, Mark Toney and its restaurants remain an iconic Geordie brand.
■■4. BARBOUR:
Best-known for its waxed jackets, popular with Royals and on sale at up-market retailers, Barbour began life as a company dedicated to protecting people from the worst of the weather.
When John Barbour opened his first shop in South Shields in 1894, he sold Beacon branded oilskins to sailors, fishermen and shipyard workers.
By the 1980s, the ‘Sloaneranger’ look had created an unprecedented demand for Barbour jackets.
■■5. NEWCASTLE CITY HALL:
Most Geordies will have passed through the hallowed doors of Newcastle City Hall at some point.
For nine decades, since its opening in 1927, the venue has been an integral part of the city’s cultural and civic life, hosting concerts, meetings, award ceremonies and prize-givings galore.
Since the late-1950s, of course, the City Hall has been a prime venue hosting pop and rock music and attracting some of the world’s biggest acts.
■■6. NEWCASTLE THEATRE ROYAL:
Surely the most impressive building in Newcastle’s finest street, the magnificent theatre opened in February 1832.
During its long illustrious lifetime, some of the acting world’s most famous names have trodden the boards at the Grey Street venue.
Stage greats from Laurence Olivier to Judy Dench, and Hollywood legends from Charlton Heston to Jack Lemmon are just a few.
■■7. RINGTONS: Anyone fancy a cuppa? The Newcastle tea merchant started out more than 100 years ago when Samuel Smith took his horse and cart around Newcastle to sell tea to residents – humble beginnings that rapidly grew.
But there was no Mr Ringtons as is often assumed.
Samuel Smith actually established the firm with an initial investment of £250 from his business partner William Titterington – so the name Ringtons was in fact formed from the latter part of Titterington’s name and the ‘s’ from Smith.
The third generation of the business now presides over an annual multi-million turnover.
■■8. MINCHELLA:
No trip to the seaside at South Shields would be complete without tucking into a Minchella’s ice cream.
The Minchella family has been operating in the town - and beyond - since 1935.
Of Italian heritage, like a host of other Tyneside ice cream manufacturers, the business still operates from its factory in South Shields’ Maxwell Street.
■■9. JG WINDOWS:
A Newcastle staple, based in the city’s Central Arcade, the store has sold all things musical since it opened in 1908.
Today it sells CDs, records, musical instruments, sheet music and more.
Over the years the store has welcomed many of the region’s budding music stars through its doors as young shoppers, from Mark Knopfler to Bryan Ferry to AC/DC’s Brian Johnson.
■■10. NEWCASTLE BROWN ALE:
A world-famous beer which first went on sale 90 years ago - this one sadly ‘got away’, but it’s still one of ours.
It was Colonel Porter who came up with the recipe for the region’s most famous tipple. For decades, the agreeable smell of brewing beer regularly wafted over the city.
In 2005 the beer’s manufacture was moved from Newcastle to the Federation Brewery in Gateshead.
Five years later, it controversially moved out of the North East to Tadcaster in North Yorkshire.