Seven long lost Sunderland pubs you may (or may not) wish could come back, including The Old Twenty Nine, Brewery Tap, Upper Deck and Red Lion
Some of the buildings are now used for other purposes. Most were demolished. For the better? That depends on your opinion, as well as the pub.
Books could be written about Sunderland pubs, as indeed they have been. We have selected seven which those among you old enough to remember may fondly recollect. Or not.
1. The Red Lion, Roker Avenue - match day fun
One of only 500 British pubs to bear the name, the Red Lion on Roker Avenue was what your dad referred to as a ‘proper pub’. Mine certainly did. I remember as a child standing outside waiting for him and his friends to emerge before the match kicked off at Roker Park (this was standard parenting back then). When the Stadium of Light opened in 1997 the pub found itself even closer to SAFC home games. But its popularity dwindled. In its latter days topless barmaids were employed upstairs. However, it was a forlorn effort and the Red Lion was demolished in the early 2010s. Photo: Sunderland Echo
2. Bridge Hotel, High Street West - where Charles Dickens supposedly drank
The Bridge Hotel, on the corner of High Street West and Sunderland Street, is the only former pub on our list which still exists as a building. In fact it is Grade II listed. Built in 1797 as a house for the Lambton family, it became, according to English Heritage, a pub in 1820. Charles Dickens allegedly popped in for a couple in 1852. He certainly appeared at the nearby Lyceum Theatre at that time. The pub became less popular over time and by the 1990s was struggling. It’s now offices, having not been a bar since its landlord was murdered on the premises in 1998. Photo: Sunderland Echo
3. The Upper Deck, Walworth Way - it's in the eye of the beholder
The Upper Deck was a first floor pub above what was until recently Superdry in the Bridges (next to Clark’s shoes). Opened in 1967 by the Duchess of Kent (only kidding, it was 1968), as you can see it was an architectural gem, matched only in pulchritude by the nearby multi-storey car park. I have distinct recollections of libidinous yahoos on Saturday afternoons, leering from the ‘skywalk’ outside and tipping the occasional drop of lager onto shoppers below by way of recreation. Great days. However, the pub disappeared in 1989 when the shopping centre was built, but there are many fond memories. Photo: Sunderland Echo
4. Ship Inn, High Street East - we'll keep it clean
Also known for a time as The Corner House, the Ship Inn stood at the top of High Street East. My generation remembers it as a somewhat unremarkable establishment, but in the 1950s and 60s the name Ship Inn was something of an advertising slogan. When a ship was in, sailors would meander up from the port where some would become acquainted with what family newspapers refer to as ladies of negotiable virtue, said to chalk their prices on the soles of their shoes. This picture was taken in 1999 at a leaving bash for Vaux staff. Note the gentleman at the front with his swanky new mobile phone. Photo: Sunderland Echo