The Oldest Pubs in Whitley Bay

Whitley Bay as a seaside resort is a relatively modern invention -- the town only really grew in the Victorian and Edwardian eras when the railway brought day trippers and holidaymakers to the coast. But the villages around it are far older, and so are their pubs. Some of the most historic drinking establishments in the area predate the town itself by centuries.

A description of Whitley village in 1825 records two public houses, noting that there had formerly been five. A colliery called Whitley Pit had opened nearby in 1817, and the mining community it supported would have sustained those earlier pubs. When the pit closed in 1848, the village shrank, and the pubs went with it.

This guide covers the oldest and most historically significant pubs in and around Whitley Bay that are still serving today.

The Ship, Monkseaton (1688)

The Ship at Monkseaton is the oldest pub in the area by a comfortable margin. A stone plaque on the building reads "1688 -- Ye Olde Ship Inn. Rebuilt 1923". The original building was constructed as a farmhouse by Thomas Mills for the Mills family of Monkseaton. It was in the late 1700s that the farmhouse was converted into an ale parlour, and it has served as a pub ever since.

The original Ship Inn was demolished in 1922 and replaced the following year with the present building, commissioned by the Northumberland Brewery Co. Ltd at a cost of five thousand, one hundred pounds. The rebuild preserved the historical identity while giving the pub a larger, more purpose-built layout.

Today the Ship sits at the heart of the Monkseaton village, a short walk from the Metro station and from Whitley Bay town centre. It is a proper local with a strong community following.

Best for: The oldest pub in the Whitley Bay area. A farmhouse from 1688, converted to an ale parlour in the late 1700s, and rebuilt in 1923.

The Delaval Arms, Old Hartley (1745)

The Delaval Arms at Old Hartley was built in 1745 as an inn and hotel, situated next to the Manor House of Hartley. A rear wing was added in the mid-nineteenth century. The pub takes its name from the Delaval family, the powerful Northumberland landowners whose seat at Seaton Delaval Hall is just a few miles inland.

The location is spectacular -- perched above the coast between Whitley Bay and Seaton Sluice, with views across to St Mary's Lighthouse. The Delaval Arms has been a stopping point for walkers along the coastal path for as long as the path has existed. The building itself is full of character, with low ceilings, stone walls, and the kind of atmosphere that only comes from nearly three centuries of continuous use.

Best for: Built in 1745, the Delaval Arms is one of the oldest continuously operating pubs on the Northumberland coast.

The Fat Ox, Whitley Road (1922)

The Fat Ox on Whitley Road was built in 1922, but the site has a longer history -- it was constructed on the location of a previous drinking house that dated back to the 1800s. The current building is an imposing roadside pub that has served the residential streets between Whitley Bay and Monkseaton for over a century.

A separate establishment called the Old Fat Ox now operates in Holywell village, a mile or so inland. The Holywell pub was refurbished under new ownership in 2022 and sits in a charming village setting with a large beer garden.

Best for: The current Fat Ox dates to 1922, but a drinking house stood on this site from the 1800s.

Fitzgeralds, South Parade

Fitzgeralds on South Parade occupies an imposing half-timbered Victorian building in the centre of Whitley Bay. It is part of the Sir John Fitzgerald group, a North East pub chain with roots going back to 1899 when John Fitzgerald acquired his first pub in Newcastle. The group expanded steadily across Tyneside in the early twentieth century, purchasing the Trafalgar pub in 1901 among other acquisitions.

The South Parade building is one of the most distinctive on the Whitley Bay seafront and reflects the grand Edwardian ambitions of the town when it was being built up as a resort destination.

Best for: Victorian half-timbered building on South Parade, part of the Sir John Fitzgerald group established in 1899.

The Rex Hotel -- A Lost Landmark

Not all historic drinking establishments have survived in their original form. The Rex Hotel on the corner of the Promenade and South Parade was originally built in 1906 as a small temperance hotel by the Waverley Hotel Company. In 1937, the hotel obtained a licence to sell alcohol and was renamed the Rex Hotel. It went on to host a popular folk club, with performers including Gerry Rafferty, Billy Connolly, Ralph McTell, and Lindisfarne all playing there during the 1960s and 1970s.

The building is now known as Bay View House, but its contribution to Whitley Bay's social and musical history was considerable.

Best for: Built in 1906, the Rex Hotel hosted folk legends including Billy Connolly and Lindisfarne before eventually closing.

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The oldest pubs near Whitley Bay tell a story that stretches back long before the seaside resort existed. From a seventeenth-century farmhouse in Monkseaton to a Georgian coaching inn on the clifftops at Old Hartley, these places connect the modern town to the farming, fishing, and mining communities that came before it. For more on the current pub scene, see our guide to the best pubs in Whitley Bay.

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