Middlesbrough has always boasted a vibrant nightlife and a rich array of bars, clubs and pubs. However, many of the watering holes that were once at the heart of community life, and where many lifelong friendships were formed, have in recent decades closed. Some have been demolished, while others have been repurposed as offices, community and cultural venues.
Today, there is emphasis on regenerating town centres as spaces of entertainment and leisure amid unprecedented challenges faced by the High Street as consumer retail patterns change.
But the nation faces a cost of living crisis that threatens the survival of the remaining retailers and pubs.
In his latest book called Historic Middlesbrough, which features photos from Teesside Archives alongside the collections of Ernest Burniston, Geoff Lumb and Paul Stephenson, historian Tosh Warwick looks back at some of the town’s lost and historic bars and pubs and suggests there are lessons from history for the 21st Century High Street.
The Ship Inn
The Ship Inn at the centre of the new development of Middlesbrough in the 1830s. Picture: Paul Stephenson
For more than 170 years, the Ship Inn in St Hilda’s was a popular pub in the heart of the oldest area of industrial Middlesbrough. It was a favourite of the local community, workers and visitors from the nearby River Tees. Early records and sketches reveal the Ship Inn – dating back to the 1830s – as an institution at the heart of the town since the rise of modern Middlesbrough from early days as a coal exporting town to the days of the Ironopolis and steel manufacturing.
A busy scene outside the Ship Inn at St Hilda's. Picture: Les Bulman Collection, Teesside Archives
Previously unpublished photographs by the late Les Bulman have recently been added to the collections of Teesside Archives, and the Ship Inn is one of dozens of drinking establishments snapped through Les’ lens, with his photos capturing life inside and outside of the iconic historic pub in the 1970s.
They include a photograph of pub manager Ken Whitfield playing darts (above). He was famed as a nail throwing expert who could dislodge a bottle top from a willing participant’s nose by throwing a nail that would then go on to hit the dartboard!
Later known as the Middlehaven, a fire ravaged the building in 2012 to drive a final nail into the coffin of the historic watering hole.
The Ship in St Hilda's with an industrial backdrop. Sir John Fitzgerald is a Newcastle pub chain, named after an Irish barowner and bottler who rose to become Lord Mayor of Newcastle in 1914. The chain now has 15 pubs on Tyneside. Picture: Les Bulman Collection, Teesside Archives
The Masham
A busy Linthorpe Road with the Masham Hotel on the left hand side of the postcard. Picture: Paul Stephenson Collection
Dating back to Victorian Middlesbrough, The Masham boasts a rich history including playing host to Middlesbrough FC fans and players celebrating FA Amateur Cup success in 1898. For more than a century, The Masham was one of the town’s most popular public houses and many have fond memories of the warm chicken sandwiches and the camaraderie to be found in the town centre venue.
Converted into retail premises in the 1990s, The Masham is now home to Navigator North and hosts a number of events and exhibitions celebrating Middlesbrough’s heritage.
The move to bring the former retail space into use as a cultural and community space reflects shifts in town centres across the country. The building’s past is not forgotten, however, and the Grade II Listed historic gem features an impressive tiled frontage and mosaic lettering reading ‘Masham Hotel’ that serves as a striking reminder of the venue’s life as a former Bass house.
The landmark Masham Hotel in Middlesbrough in the 1970s. Picture: Les Bulman Collection, Teesside Archives
The Corporation Hotel
The imposing Corporation Hotel on the left with Amos Hinton's on the right. Picture: Paul Stephenson
The Corporation Hotel, or the “Corp”, is remembered fondly by many Teessiders as a beautiful building and is noted as the birthplace of Wendy Richard who enjoyed TV fame, including as Pauline Fowler in Eastenders.
The grand building was demolished as extensive change of the Middlesbrough skyline occurred in the town centre owing to the development of new retail and office space in the 1970s through the construction of the Cleveland Centre and Corporation House.
The Corporation Hotel's entrance on Corporation Road, taken from the junction with Albert Road. Picture: Teesside Archives
The Princess Alice
Pints and music at the Princess Alice. Picture: Les Bulman, Teesside Archives
A relatively recent loss to the Middlesbrough pub scene, The Princess Alice was a popular town centre pub for entertainment and sports fans for many decades. The pub eventually closed in the mid-2010s but unlike some of its predecessors, has avoided the threat of the wrecking ball and has been repurposed as office and training space.
Thankfully, the community life and figures who frequented the “Alice” in the 1970s were captured through the foresight of Les Bulman and we are able to get a sense of pub life in the town half a century ago.
The Bodega
The demolition of the Royal Exchange is arguably one of the most divisive topics in the town’s history, with many decrying the loss of the derelict former home of Dorman Long and British Steel Teesside as an act of architectural vandalism. As well as felling the Drawing Hall and offices where landmarks such as Sydney Harbour Bridge were sketched, the demolition of the building also meant the end for the Bodega and last orders were called in September 1984.
A man enjoys a pint and a smoke in the Princess Alice. Picture: Les Bulman Collection, Teesside Archives
The Middlesbrough Empire
The Empire Palace of Varieties in the early 20th Century. Picture: Ernest Burniston Collection
While many of Middlesbrough’s famous pubs and bars have disappeared from the local skyline, leaving behind only memories and a void for many pubgoers, there are a number of examples throughout the town where bars, pubs and nightclubs have brought new life to historic buildings.
Arguably the stand out example of this is the transformation of the Empire Palace of Varieties – and later a Mecca Bingo Hall – into one of the leading nightspots in the North East in the form of the Middlesbrough Empire. As high streets across the country look to attract new life to their town centres, it is hoped that historic buildings which no longer serve their original purpose can be embraced as part of regeneration initiatives and reused in creative ways that help preserve built heritage.
Lessons from the past
City and town centres across the country face huge changes and need to embrace change as they move away from retail-dominated centres, by looking back at examples from Middlesbrough’s history there are certainly lessons from the past around valuing pubs and clubs as important parts of local leisure provision.
Since the Victorian era, local pubs and clubs have been key features of a vibrant Middlesbrough town centre and an important part of local community and social life. Supporting local pubs – many often found in historic buildings and repurposed venues – will help ensure that both the businesses and buildings remain a prominent feature of the town centre.
Where pubs, clubs or bars have closed down, it is important that these historic venues are not left to rot and that creative repurposing of historic buildings – such as we have seen with The Masham and the Empire – can help utilise these unique assets to inspire current and future generations to not only celebrate and respect the town’s history and heritage but support the new high street offerings of the present and future. For those that have been flattened, we are at least able to turn to the rich collections and records of archives such as Teesside Archives to discover this rich part of the area’s cultural, economic and social history.
Historic Middlesbrough by Tosh Warwick is available to buy at here and at selected local bookshops.
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