The Ord Arms, Scotswood Road

HER Number:
11066

District:
Newcastle

Site Name:
The Ord Arms, Scotswood Road

Place:
Scotswood

Map Sheet:
NZ26SW

Class:
Commercial

Site Type: Broad:
Eating and Drinking Establishment

Site Type: Specific:
Public House

General Period:
POST MEDIEVAL

Specific Period:
Victorian 1837 to 1901

Form of Evidence:
Documentary Evidence

Description:
The Ord Arms was built in 1831 on Scotswood Road, slightly downriver from the Chainbridge, to capitalise on the anticipated increase in road traffic between the new bridge and Newcastle. A newspaper article in 1864 described the inn as having a "large garden, coachhouse, stable, cow byre, brewhouse and about 19 acres of old grass land". In the early 1860s Jane Cox was brewer here, later Thomas Charlton. In 1873 Robert Gibson is listed. However, the brewhouse was only in use until the 1870s. The pub was auctioned in 1898 by Rowntree & Sherwell, who described the house as 'a plain and unpretentious building' which sold for £28,100 (the auctioneer acknowledged the sum was 20x the value without a licence). By the time of the auction, the Ord Arms had beer cellars, a large bar, parlour, snug, news room, bagatelle room and kitchen on ground floor. Above this were the billiards room, club room and three bedrooms. Outbuildings comprised a wash house, six-stalled stable, a byre for 14 cows and a coach house. Next door there were refreshment rooms, a yard and gardens. However, its main appeal was the location close to Scotswood Railway Station and the imminent opening, across Scotswood Road of the Armstrong Whitworth (later Vickers) Scotswood Works and its anticipated thirsty workforce. In 1900 it was rebuilt by F.M. Laing with a distinctive clock tower. The Ord Arms was acquired by Robert Deuchar (1937) and by Newcastle Breweries in the 1950s. Ultimately the public house closed in December 1965 and demolished in 1966 for a new road layout to Scotswood Bridge. The clock tower was moved to the Tyne Brewery in Newcastle. Following demolition of the brewery in 2007, the clock tower mainly made of lead, was transferred to the S&N Brewery site in central Newcastle for safety but when this site was cleared in 2011 it was lost to metal thieves. The Robin Adair pub was built to replace the Ord Arms but only lasted a few years before falling victim to the widening of Scotswood Road to dual carriageway dimensions in the mid 1980.

Easting:
422100

Northing:
563300

Grid Reference:
NZ422100563300

Lats/Lons:

Sources:
Brian Bennison, 1995, Brewers and Bottlers of Newcastle upon Tyne From 1850 to the present day, p 25-6; Terry Quinn, 1991, Bygone Scotswood, photo number 6; Brenda Whitelock, 1992, "Timepieces of Newcastle", page 48 (photo by Jimmy Forsyth); Bennison, B, 1998, Lost Weekends, A History of Newcastle's Public Houses, Vol 3, The West Notes from I. Farrier of the Newcastle Photo Archive.