Aye, perhaps a fellow brick snooper 🧱
10.03.2026 17:54
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Aye, perhaps a fellow brick snooper 🧱
Dropping the cat off at the cat hotel before holiday tomorrow, and I see this gem in a garden wall. First time seeing a Seaton Burn brick!
It has survived demolition in the decade since as offices.
Its history was far more turbulent once much of the industry left Shields. It was renamed Fog on the Tyne in 1986, then the Laurel Arms in 1992 before reverting back to its original name. It was still trading in 2005, but eventually closed at the eve of 2015.
Newcastle Breweries held onto it for much of its life, and they had a swinging sign and star right above the door.
In 1937 it was fully demolished and replaced with this Mock Tudor construction, a style all the range in the inter-war period. It features timber framing on white render and brick, a style which they felt made the pub really pop against some of its more antiquified neighbours.
It meant it passed into the hands of Newcastle Breweries when they merged in the 1890s.
It was tied to the High Brewery which we discussed recently, owned by William Henry Allison who had their own small collection of inns in and around the town. It resulted in a seamless demand with no place better to sell alcohol.
The original building was fairly modest and typical of the time. Charlotte Street was almost a second High Street, and the photograph above shows a grocers, ice cream parlour, hairdressers and boot repair shop nearby.
His estate, Charlotte Lodge, was just up the road off Linskill Terrace and is almost entirely built up today.
He was also the High Sheriff of Northumberland and the first President of the North Shields Dispensary supporting the poor and infirm. The family were originally Whitby Quakers whose family ended up in the ropemaking industry here.
It was named in tribute to William Linskill who was still alive at this point, a man known for assembling a militia to fend off the threat of potential Napoleonic invasion.
It had traded from this spot on Charlotte Street from around 1830, with the first firm reference from Pigot's Directory of 1836 when William Rossiter was the publican.
The Colonel Linskill today is a mock tudor reminder of North Shields' endless boozing past, operating three quarters of a century and celebrating one of the town's most esteemed sons.
The Robin Hood now up on the site, featuring a history of the plot itself and the environment around it. Many may know this one later as The Corvette.
Link below
Quite surprised it’s not deeper.
Some excavating works going on bottom of Northumberland Street. Looks like there’s an exposed sewer (???) and some interesting brickwork going on
There's one in Murton too of course!
Header photo source: Billy Embleton. Source for other photos unknown
Sadly the Corvette only had 40 years in it and was abandoned by 1995 - affected by at least one fire during its dereliction just after the height of the troubles in these parts.
The site today is all residential.
The Corvette was built in its place, named in reference to the warships which passed the river frequently after being built and docked. It was opened on the 11th January 1957 and had a very typical mid 20th century style, owned by Newcastle Breweries featuring its blue star.
It was also severed from the adjoining terrace, again presumably due to bombing. It was demolished in 1956, ending a century of service. I'm wondering too if the pub was partly demolished given only the ground floor still remained in its entirety by the 50s.
The Robin Hood survived the heavy North Shields bombing, though only just. Beacon Street was bombed during raids in 1941 that killed 2. This, amongst presumed others, left it compromised and left the pub a notorious reputation of being wonky.
It was a relatively plain building with little character of note, though still attractive to us. It was certainly a house dating from at least the early 19th century with its whole bottom floor extended and remodelled as a pub with upstairs reserved for the licensee presumably.
They were headed up over at Gateshead and had about a dozen tied houses before the merger.
At this time They had been under the Swinburne & Co banner, becoming one of their tied houses by this point. They were part of the Newcastle Breweries firm, though the Swinburne name was retained and respected.
The licensee in 1891 was one Thomas Elliot, a 36 yr old from Hartley who was a coal miner and innkeeper. Dual occupations were common, with pub receipts supplementing their day to day income. It also traces a very typical migration between Northumberland's pits and industries.
While he was publican in 1882 , William's son (or possibly nephew) Anthony Irvice Headley was found beached and dead at Hauxley after falling aboard from the steamer Alice, probably boarding from Shields up to Scotland or Berwick.
Perhaps it had connotations of generosity & as a place for ordinary folk to quietly congregate. Its first landlord was a Mr Watkin, following by a William Headley and like many pubs we've discussed it litters the newspapers with inquests into mysterious deaths.
