‘Newcastle’ not coming back to city centre pub
A brewery sign which hung from the side of an historic city centre pub for over 60 years has been removed and will not be coming back.
The Newcastle Ales logo, high above the ground on the east side of the Dun Cow has been removed for safety reasons and replaced with a gleaming new sign displaying the pub’s name.
The old sign was a familiar sight in the city centre and also featured the blue star logo of Scottish & Newcastle (S & N) plc, which has been defunct since a takeover in 2008.
The removal and replacement of the sign is part of the pub’s extensive restoration work, which has been going on since 2019.
The High Street West pub, which was built in 1901, was sold following the takeover of S & N by Heineken and Carlsberg and run by several tenants until the present owners began running it in 2014, making a significant investment to restore and improve the pub.
The Dun Cow finally reopened on September 2 after being closed by Covid for 18 months.
However, work is still being carried out to the first floor and new rear entrance facing the Fire Station Auditorium.
But the Newcastle Ales sign will not be a feature again.
Paul Callaghan, chair of Pub Culture which operates the Dun Cow, told the Echo: “The sign was deteriorating and becoming dangerous, so the council gave us permission to remove it in March 2020.
“During lockdown, we put up the new sign and we’re obviously delighted with it.
“It’s great to see the Dun Cow open again.”