Currently on
show at the Literary and Philosophical Society on Westgate Road in Newcastle is an ongoing exhibition of
photographs from the West Newcastle Picture History Collection. The theme is ‘pubs
and clubs’ to be found within a few square miles west of Newcastle city centre. Stretching west of St
James’ Boulevard to Scotswood Bridge (within spitting distance of Blaydon Jazz
Club!) and north to Stamfordham Road in Westerhope, black and white prints on
show in the Lit & Phil’s ground floor exhibition space give an indication
of west Newcastle’s once flourishing pub trade.
Most of the
hostelries are long gone, all, no doubt, with a tale to tell. The Broken Doll
stood as an old-style spit and sawdust boozer on Blenheim Street . Matthew Charlton beers
were on the bar. A lick of paint would have ruined the place, a public house
without redecoration since the year dot. A Saturday afternoon blues venue par
excellence (the Blues Burglars were regulars, the joint packed to the rafters),
‘progress’ intervened. The Broken Doll was demolished to make way for St James’
Boulevard (never a more ludicrous name for a road in a northern ‘post’
industrial town), memories survive intact. Broken Doll t-shirts were de
rigueur, today a collector’s item.

3 comments :
The beer was supplied by Mathew Brown. Great pub :)
Yes, Matthew Brown. Thanks for the correction. Who (hick!) is Matthew Charlton?
The Matthew Charlton Home Improvement, DIY, Plumbing and builders merchant has operated within Northumberland for 171 years.
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