The Oldest Pubs in Blyth

Blyth has always been a drinking town. When the port was shipping three million tons of coal a year and the shipyard was in full swing, the pubs were where the work ended and the evening began. Many of those pubs are gone now -- demolished, converted, or simply closed -- but the ones that remain carry real history in their walls. This guide looks at the oldest and most historically significant pubs still standing in Blyth.

The Waterloo

The Waterloo on Bondicar Terrace is one of the oldest surviving pubs in Blyth. The name itself tells you something -- Waterloo Road was formally named in the 1880s, but drinking establishments in this area predate that by decades. A "Waterloo" pub appears in the 1827 Parson and White trade directory for the area, making it one of the earliest documented licensed premises in the town.

The pub was formerly tied to Vaux Breweries, one of the great North East brewing firms. Today it operates as a community local with live sport, pool, and the kind of atmosphere that only comes from serving the same neighbourhood for generations.

Best for: A pub at this location appears in trade directories from 1827, making the Waterloo one of the longest-established drinking spots in Blyth.

The Kings Head

The Kings Head at 85 Bridge Street is a Grade II listed building and one of the most architecturally significant pubs in Blyth. The building has served as a pub under various names over the years, including a spell as Dirty Nellys and later Jumping Jax, but its original identity as the Kings Head is the one that stuck.

Bridge Street was historically the commercial heart of Blyth, and the Kings Head sat right in the middle of it. The building's listed status reflects its importance to the townscape, even as the businesses around it have changed beyond recognition.

Best for: Grade II listed and located on Bridge Street, the Kings Head is one of the most architecturally significant pub buildings in Blyth.

The Wallaw

The Wallaw on Union Street is not old in the traditional pub sense, but the building it occupies is one of the most historically important in Blyth. The site was first developed in 1902 when circus proprietor William Tudor built the Blyth Hippodrome. After the Hippodrome closed in 1920, the building was demolished and replaced in 1937 by the Wallaw Cinema, a striking 1,600-seat Art Deco picture house designed by Percy Lindsay Browne, Son and Harding for Wallaw Pictures Ltd of Ashington. The name itself comes from the company's founder, Walter Lawson.

The cinema passed through several owners, including the ABC chain, and was converted to three screens in 1987 before closing for good in 2003. After a decade standing empty, Wetherspoons purchased the building, and the pub opened in December 2013 following a careful renovation that preserved much of the original Art Deco interior. The conversion was highly commended in the 2015 CAMRA and Historic England Pub Design Awards.

Best for: Grade II listed Art Deco cinema from 1937, now a Wetherspoon pub. The building stands on the site of the 1902 Blyth Hippodrome.

The Blyth and Tyne

The Blyth and Tyne takes its name from the Blyth and Tyne Railway, the line that connected the coalfields to the port from 1849 and transformed the town's fortunes. As BlythHub's pub crawl notes, the building has not changed much on the outside over the decades, though inside it has served as everything from a traditional boozer to a disco bar and a rock bar at various points.

The pub's location near the old railway infrastructure and its name tie it directly to the industrial story of Blyth. The railway made the town what it was, and the pub carries that connection forward.

Best for: Named after the railway that built Blyth, the Blyth and Tyne has been a fixture of the town's drinking scene for generations.

The Portland and the Railway Tavern -- Lost but Not Forgotten

Not every historic pub has survived. The Portland on Regent Street went through several identities -- including Jo Cavners and Laurel and Hardys -- before eventually closing and being converted to a bed and breakfast. The Railway Tavern once stood opposite Blyth's main railway station on Regent Street, serving the workers and travellers who passed through the town. Both are gone, but they were part of the fabric of Blyth for the better part of a century.

Other lost pubs include the Seven Stars, demolished in the 1980s, the Dun Cow, and the Gladstone Arms on Burt Street -- which was one of five pubs and clubs on that single street alone. That concentration tells you everything about what Blyth was like in its industrial prime.

Best for: At its peak, Burt Street alone had five pubs and clubs. Most are gone, but the stories remain.

Blyth's Brewing Heritage

Blyth's pub history is inseparable from its brewing history. The Blyth and Tyne Brewery was producing beers for its tied houses from as early as 1750, making it one of the oldest brewing operations in Northumberland. Later, Vaux Breweries of Sunderland held significant sway over the town's pubs, with many of Blyth's locals operating as Vaux tied houses throughout the twentieth century.

The closure of Vaux in 1999 was felt across the North East, and Blyth was no exception. Several pubs changed hands, changed character, or simply closed. The ones that survived did so because their communities would not let them go.

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Blyth's oldest pubs are not grand coaching inns or gentlemen's taverns. They are working-class locals that grew up alongside the port, the mines, and the railway. They tell the story of a town that has always grafted for its living. For more on Blyth's history, see our guides to the history of Blyth Port and the best pubs in Blyth.

Know something about Blyth's pub history that we have missed? Get in touch and we will update this guide.