Facebook Postings - Gateshead History

Facebook Postings 2015

What would Local Historians Frank Manders, Clarence Walton, The Dodds sisters, John Oxberry, Peter Haywood, Joan Hewitt, Chas Taylor et al make of Facebook Groups eg Memory Lane, Felling Past and Present, Felling Group etc? This is just a sampling of the value of shared memories. They would have loved it and I'm sure they would have seen the historic merit in recording the views of ordinary people on everyday subjects.
Here's a few postings. I doubt whether the actual postings will last into history and they are not searchable. These reproduced samplings are searchable and postings on this website will survive into history, if not online then certainly in a printed form
This is the sort of record for the future that a tape recording of folks chatting in a pub 100 years ago would be. A great insight into what people were thinking and talking about

JB This is an interesting photograph. I had forgotten there was a William IV pub on Bottle Bank. Here we see the pub on the day of Tot Anderson's funeral. Tot owned and ran the pub and the Gateshead Post reports "People lined every inch of the route to St Mary's Church in Gateshead where a service was held"

32 like this.

JB Can't find my pic of the lined streets but it's here
http://www.gatesheadhistory.com/local-people.html
Local People - Gateshead History
Gateshead history in words and old pictures from Gateshead Council's collection online at http://www.ise...
GATESHEADHISTORY.COM|BY JON BRATTON

DN Here it is JB x

JB How did you do that Denise?

DN Screenshot John on my IPhone you bring picture up and press on the home button and side on/off button at same time it goes into the camera roll xx

JB I've only got iPhone 3 with no internet. I have lots of websites so people assume I'm a techie but I'm exactly what you'd expect from a 66 year old. Next time I want to show a pic I can't find in my file of thousands i'll give you a hollah x

DN Go ahead JB no problem xx
PS Impressed.

KTW Amazing I wonder what year this was. He must have been a real celebrity of his time. Will read more of the Gateshead History site later. Many thanks Jon and Denise x

DN 1937xx

KTW Cheers - will ask my dad if he remembers this - he would have been 8 xx

ILW Great photo,I only remember Bottle Bank as a rather run down area,it looks great here though. I would like to know more about Tot Anderson he must have been local royalty.

JB He was the publican and if you look at the main sign above the pub and next door shop it says Robinson and Anderson. He will be that Anderson. Lots of folk lived in Central Gateshead and with draughty houses and no TV the pubs were much more important ...(More)

JB This is stuff from my website about the Queen's Head
"The Queen's Head Inn deserves special mention as it was obviously the posh hotel of Gateshead and being near the bottom of Bottle Bank it was very close to Newcastle and was often used as the place ...(More)

TD Knocked about that area in 1964 when me ship used to tie up at Gateshead Quay,only remember the Queens Head,think there were still building alongside it but that could be a fault of memory.

SH Wow- just amazing!!! Thanks for this- I'm fascinated

KTW Very interesting and t must have felt another world a couple of streets along in Pipewellgate.

JB More on Queens Head off internet
The "Queen's Head" stood almost opposite the site of the Goat's Inn (HER 7861), at the middle of the steepest part of Bottle Bank, on the right-hand side going downwards. It was in its day the most important hostelry in...(More)

DN It used to be called the Nags Head
The Old Nag’s Head was Tot’s after the long-term manager Thomas “Tot” Anderson. It was a popular port of call for seamen who would bring souvenirs back from their travels. The walls were decorated with wine-skins, a swordfish, strange weaponry and ships in bottles.

KTW If only it was still there!

JB KTW, you have to bear in mind we're talking of a large span of time. Pipewellgate (Rabbit Bank) was once new and would have a magnificent view over to Newcastle. Many of the houses were big..posh you might say. As it worsened the wealthy folk went to the green fields of Bensham and the big houses became tenaments, which hastened the area's decline

KTW Yes bad sorts moved in - some of my ancestors. Great info and will help me add info to my family tree. Many thanks x

JB DN,the William IV closed in the late 30's ie after senior Tot's funeral. Tot junior moved to the Old Nag's Head

DN Okay blame Google LOL! x

JB Too many Tots!

DN This is link
What's On: Music, Film, & Things To Do in North East - The Journal
THEJOURNAL.CO.UK

JB The Robinson & Anderson Co was Tot and a bookie called Alec Robinson. The firm, became tenants in the pubs of James Calder & Co. John Boothroyd the former head of Local History of Gateshead Council said of the big funeral turn out "Tot was a Gateshead personality"

JB It was the Journal's fault. Here's the info they were given

ILW read Denise's link with interest, one paragraph was really interesting to me..............".One visitor’s comment has John Boothroyd smiling, then heading off for more research. “I was born in St Cuthbert’s Road,” the chap says, “and The Victoria was a...(More)

JB Never seen a photo of it. Underhand was a nickname for the Victoria . It may have gone before your time. There'll be references to it in the Trade Directories. The pub was originally owned by Arrol and Sons who were Scottish brewers. It was taken over by Allsopp's. Best I can do

ILW Thanks Jon............ yes it was gone before my time (born 1948) well maybe it was still there at that time but I cant remember it

JB Sodhouse Bank, back then when the Three Tuns had not been rebuilt (in 1923) and the church at the top of Kells Lane was not modern. See from today's pic nothing much has changed

27 like this.

JB The building with the dormer window is the same

AS I have wondered which buildings these were . Now with the comparrison picture I know

BO Zion chapel is on the first one and not the second,, taken from further up the bank?

TC Why was it called sodhouse bank?

JB Coz houses were roofed with sods of grass

BO Was the Paddies after the tatties died

TC How interesting
..why was it changed?

BO Leaked

JB They only used sods coz they were amateur built houses by dirt poor scoundrels and vagabonds

JB Another Sheriff Hill piccie

JB Is that a garage where the vets is now?

BO If you look past the Tunns the old Methodist church still stands,, not many pics of that going

JB Not to harp on about the Quayside but even before the Sage and The Millennium Bridge, the old fashioned one was still bordering on magnificent

78 like this.
Not bordering..it is magnificent
love this photo
Love this picture
beautiful picture
I agree with you Jon.

JB It's a bog standard picture, which cropped, makes the pretty damned good into absolutely belta. Despite the magnificent TV helicopter coverage the BBC do every year covering The Great North Run, NGF's (non geordie folk) still think it's grim and industrial. Good!
Looks beautiful Jon x
Fan Jon xx
Great photo
True that!
so right jon
every bridge over the river is special and an engineering work of art
Agree

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JB Took this tonight

69 people like this.
Stunning, Jon
That's so lovely Jon
JB I know. Credit to Gateshead Council for adding the Sage and Millennium Bridge to create matching curves with the Tyne Bridge
I'll post where I took it from

Excellent photo i must say!
JB I took it from here
http://www.gatwickparking.co.uk/.../spend-new-years-eve.../
Spend New Year's Eve In A New Location Thanks To Cheap Airport Car Parking -...
GATWICKPARKING.CO.UK
Great pic.x

JB Actually, here's a photo I did take today. Ken Black I'm not

It's lively

JB What photographically
I was trying to do..
Is to get the juxtaposition
Betwixt old and new

very good photos

JB Here's a sign I spotted on a Jewish educational establishment

got a traffic light fetish

JB The only remaining bit of St Cuthbert's Village

JB I love danger. Most cars were through the lights and hurtling towards me but I stood my ground to get a great shot so you wouldn't have to watch Big Brother on the tele

i used to live there in early 70's remembering the power cuts !!

Wow Jon that's beautiful. Brilliant xx

got bb taped

We've had a few of this view, but I can't remember this angle and these colours. You should be proud of this, it's a beautiful frame of dimensions and texture and shapes and colours. Thanks for sharing JB x

Gorgeous photo

That is beautiful Jon

Regent Tce is posh fair enough but putting these flags in their front gardens is OTT

So beautiful

January 2015

JB Had a pint in the Metropole today. It's good with lots of nooks, good decor, trombone lighting..but a few too many TV's for my
liking. Pics on the wall are about brewing. I would have expected a theatre theme. Got chatting to a guy formerly in the pub trade and he just would not accept the building's origin as a theatre. That it's ornate, has three storeys and the previous and current pub signs were theatrical in theme altered his view not a jot
I left with a suggestion that he consult Google when he got home

23 people like this.
GG Pleased that it's got a new lease of life though. I hope it extends to other pubs further up the High St!
AT Obviously not a Geordie then
JB He's lived in Gateshead all his life
PB I cant remember it being a theatre but I remember the name scala on the front ,I don't think I've been in the met xxx
KB It's decent in there 2.15 a pint not bad. The trafalgar is a miss

JB

JG Scala Theatre

Located in the centre of Gateshead, Tyne & Wear at the corner of High Street and Jackson Street, it had entrance on High Street and also on the Jackson Street section of the Metropole Hotel, which was the corner building built with the theatre. Originally opened as the Metropole Theatre on 28th September 1896 with the play “The Sign of the Cross”. The proscenium was 28 feet wide. It was converted into a cinema by the Thompson & Collins circuit on 11th February 1919 and re-named Scala Theatre. It had a rear projection system, with the projection box built on the rear of the stage. Taken over by Denman/Gaumont British Theatre in March 1928. It was given a Moorish style makeover designed by interior designer John Alexander. In 1930 it was equipped with a British Acoustic(BA) sound system.

The Scala Theatre was closed on 29th September 1956. The auditorium was demolished in 1960, and the façade/foyer on High Street went over to retail use, but now the entire building has been demolished and replaced by shops. The corner Metropole Hotel survives, together with its Jackson Street theatre entrance.
CH I didnt have clue what it used to be till was looking for stuff for here, hope it stays nice & bright & doesn't go downhill
JB In fairness, the main part of the building that was the theatre was demolished in 1960. My ex publican also mentioned the entrance to the Scala on the High Street elevation of the building. He said in his time the 1st floor of The Metropole part of the building was open and there was a big dance floor up there.Now only the toilets and an office are accessible on the 1st floor

JGI've just put a photo up of the inside,,for some reason it would not post when I put the write up on here just now...

JB This website has some good stuffhttp://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/GatesheadTheatres.htm
Theatres and Halls in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear
King's Theatre / Empire Theatre / Essoldo Cinema -...
ARTHURLLOYD.CO.UK

JB The two Scala entrances

IS Scrubbed up canny it has

MD Great pictures of it now. Only ever went in the old one twice (drank on the Fell or the Toon rather then Gateshead).x

JB It took a special breed to drink on Gateshead High Street though I miss Harry the Broon Ale King who "worked"..attended...for Gateshead Council and was always only one drink away from being drunk. The Metropole, Wetherspoons and The Central Bar are the new breed of High Street pubs and of course there's now a new student population.

AKK hope it does pick up , some nice buildings

on web put how many theatre's in gateshead was there clicked on Arthur lloyd great info on theatres in gateshead

Great info from a great post thank you all

was this the pic?

High Street was a viable night out in the late 80s! Then the alchys and smack rats took over! Nice to see a decent pub in the town again!

We visited the Metropole whilst visiting at Christmas.....loved what they,ve done with it...shock for my nieces was in the ladies toilets,obviously you didn,t venture there Jon,is a two seater stall..trying to explain to the girls that when her Mam and I were young ,girls often accompanied each other to the toilet great to catch up on the gossip..never seen this before...the pix are NOT being posted on Facebook..

The pubs at the top of the High Street aren't worth saving, the only buildings of any note were / are the Metropole and the Grey Nags Heed, the whole of the top end needs sweeping away and rebuilding.

I started drinking in '89 ....what you said was my & my friends reason for not drinking there. A bf took me as he drank there (we didn't last long). Would be nice to see the high st. modernised & popular.x

Thomas Wilson's house up for let so they turned it into Lowery's Lane Car Park but not before waiting nye on another Century, allowing it to become a dangerous but fun adventure playground for little tykes, including myself

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/.../bsiIlds.../s1600-h/P1020002.JPG

_________________

308-318 High Street, Gateshead, c1929

the British Lion became the Moon & Sixpence. Curley's was the Phoenix....I think, on Charles Street.

The Deckham

Dragone brother's

The one in the van was the guy who used to visit our street. Fab ice cream!
The one nearest the van is frank ...he still on saltwell road, owner of the picador cafe
Tyne Bridge 1992
This blow up of a Tyne Bridge picture took some figuring out. The white legs look as though someone has fell over. Look again. It's a lady on her hunkers attending to a child in a pushchair

Making a Proggy Mat

Worswick Street, Newcastle (1986)

This brings back memories, I used to pass there every day on my way to work at the Telephone Exchange!! Happy days.xx
Should bring in back into use....eldon square is a joke
I used to work at the Exchange too . 74-84
I worked at the Exchange 56-64 Carol . I worked with a girl called Sylvia Bright.
Leyland national and olimpyian lovely Worsick street loved the smell of the fumes lush
There were so many buses ran through low fell back then and went to plenty different destinations. Not half as many and building ore business - unbelievable
That's my bus I used to get home when I worked at Carliol House Electric Board !! Wonder if I was on it ! Xx
my roofing looks very neat and tidy
No relation . Loved my time there though
I used to work their I cleaned and then I worked in the canteen they had upstairs where the workers got their food I had good times their every one was nice
Love the National I passed my PCV test on a national & we did the 729 when I first started 2003 but they no longer run that route & remember using that bus station regular as a kid
many a time standing there waiting for a bus , loved having a hot drink while waiting for your bus to pull in at the little shop
Can't ever remember the town traffic being as bad as it has been recently even old Eldon Sq bus stn was forgiving when at its peak tho the carnage recently is unbelievable !
The national was designed by the rover sd1 designer in 1974 later most reengined by Volvo ,most busses after followed the design
You knew where you were and where you going .... Miss that depot .... Diamond in the rough
All I can remember were the long queues (excuse spelling if wrong), and yes also the fumes lol!!!!Used to get the 24 bus to Hebburn after work
Must have asked "do you go to Whickham" about a 1000 times on every bus with Stanley on the front...

Be Ro

The Company was founded by Thomas Bell as a grocery and tea company on the outskirts of Newcastle in 1875. Thomas had experimented with rising agents on flour in baking and from that produced the world's first self-raising flour. He founded the Bells Royal works which sold the Bell's Royal Flour. Following the death of Edward VII, Bell decided to merge Bell and Royal into one word which is where Be-Ro came from. Thomas Bell then moved into new premises in the yard of the Black Boy Hotel adjoining the Groat Market in the centre of Newcastle. As well as manufacturing baking powder and self-raising flour he produced a health salt which he later discontinued. He also packed and marketed dried fruit, cereals, tea and coffee using such names as T.B. Royalty, Black Diamond and Belsun. He registered the Be-Ro name under the trade marks act of 1905.

The Company then moved into larger premises in Low Friar street and after that to Bath Lane. Thomas Bell died in 1925 and his descendents continued to expand the area covered by the Company to include Carlisle and the whole of County Durham as well as Teesside. Depots were later built at Leeds, Edinburgh, Sheffield and Birmingham and in 1931 they decided upon Nottingham as a base from which to expand into the Midlands. Several dozen more depots were either built, bought or rented throughout England and Scotland.

In 1958 Rank-Hovis Ltd acquired the business, which then became part of the newly formed RHM in 1961. RHM was taken over by Premier Foods in March 2007, making Be-Ro a Premier Foods brand.

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Pipewellgate, Gateshead, c1900

Pipewellgate was originally a separate township. It was called after the ‘pipe well’ from which wooden pipes carried Gateshead’s water supply. An account for 1631 states ‘paid ye mason for hewing and laying stones at the pipewell’. - The suffix gate is used in the sense of street or lane. The street was of medieval origin although was largely rebuilt in the eighteenth century. Pipewellgate ran parallel to the river and consisted of small factories, workshops and tenement houses. It was generally regarded as one of the worst residential areas in Gateshead.

JB Gateshead's Parthenon. Built 1873...Demolished 1967. Anyone know it?

Now the exact location has been revealed..see below... doesn't it make this an enigmatic picture?

JB
JB
JB
KG top of bank st roughly where the aventine was!
GM Its shocking that this was demolished, I would have loved to have visited it.
KS Great photos
JB .
TD One of those building I walked past a thousand times and took no note,one day I walked past and it was just a pile of rubble,being older and not so crass these days I think it was a fine building should have been cleaned up and kept.
JM Should have kept some of these great old building bet there was nowt wrong with it .
JM
TC Wow... What a building..wish Gateshead had kept a lot of buildings like this
JB Great pic J. I love the Then and Now pics.If the owners don't want it and want to flog the site to turn a redundant building into cash it'll happen unless the Council can put a preservation order on. This is the inside
JB Must have been these guys, the owners, who demolished it
JH Used to live at the opposite end of the block to this building opposite the Five Wand pub. It always looked so spooky when I was little I was actually frightened of it
JB Yeah the Wesleyans scare me with their temperance tendencies
TC Would this of been in bensham?
JH Yes it was Tracey on Bensham Road itself x
TC Such a shame its demolished....horray for photos lol.
Ive been looking at the old hses along bensham cresent...they dont makes hses like that anymore...
JH They are building houses so small they might as well be shoe boxes lol x
JD Bensham Road
- NS an outstanding picture! A little gem.
- TD Think it's taken from the end of Tin Street.
- JB The bricks and the cobbles seem to match
- JB What's great about the first pic is that it would have been taken for an official purpose, often enough, just prior to demolition. The photographer in this case couldn't resist the artistic shot
  Tinn Street
- This continued on. Finally determined where photo taken from using OS Maps

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TD

Barefoot Days,they are standing outside a Pub,cant make out the full name

JB Some maps Bensham for TD and any one else to capture

e for you or anyone else who wished to copy em showing the development of the Avenues Area, 1898.

1919
1939
JB Cheers Tony . It's a great idea to concentrate on a single area and show its progression
TD Yer there are lots of bits of OS maps to be found on the internet but they are arranged in such a way if you copy them then try zooming or enlarging them so much detail is lost they are unusable and wi my old eyes now I need to enlargefy them now.
JB I'm building a new website, for The Felling Heritage Group, based partly on the iSee pics but mainly for genealogists searching for their roots and maps will be included. The problem with iSee website is whilst it's got internal searching which I've now got sussed, it is not searchable by Google. Mind you all this good stuff being put on this Facebook page is also not findable by Google
JB Mind you to make the map findable you have to type out the street names and that's a chore for a one digit typist like me
TD Good stuff Jon I were born in the Felling well in the Nook really, so I'm really a Neukite norra Benshamite.
JB My Dad was a Felling lad and I now live doonwardwards from the Nook at High Heworth but I was dragged up in Low Fell
MM If you are interested in Felling Tony you should join our history group. We are not a conventional history group mind who listen to talks we do projects but we have a very nice band of people.
TD, I'd love to see a scan from this map from further up Bensham Rd. The 'brow' of the hill if you like, where these days the new housing commemorates the past with little windmill motif on their gates and street furniture. Wish I had a pic to show you what I mean.
JB
JB If I missed your target Tony I'm redoing all these better so stay tuned
JB This is a very difficult place to hold a street party. Frederick Street on above map
TD and a hard street to find Jon , 'bing' shows me that the only street name still existing from that area is St Cuthberts Road. Great definition on your maps Jon, do you scan, or photograph?
JB I've got a bunch of the Alan Godfrey maps and I just photograph them. They're flawed but legible.
JB They're hard to find cos all the uppy downy streets became St Cuthberts Village and they became across the hills streets behind and parallel with the windmill gated houses
JB

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