Balmbra’s is a historic Newcastle watering hole, first opened in 1840 by a fellow named J Balmbra. He marketed himself as one of the most premium venues in the city, selling ‘highly-flavoured wines, foreign and British spirits, fine sparkling English and Scotch Ales, London and Dublin stout.’ Balmbra was a highly known figure in the city, being a founding member of the Licenced Victuallers Association and quarter-master of the Northumberland Yeoman Cavalry. His reputation allowed the bar to flourish.

It was opened, and nearly always known as the Wheatsheaf Inn. It featured stabling as well as a skittle ground at the rear - effectively the ancestor of modern ten pin bowling but with wooden skittles, a lawn and much smaller balls. By the end of the 1840s he also established a music saloon upstairs, which became known as Balmbra's in later years. It was Newcastle's first proper music halland as such it received a great deal of criticism for the noise and raucous nature of this new entertainment. The Newcastle Guardian had to provide an editorial in 1849 stating they couldn't publish more critique's or offend anyone further.

Still, it was certainly popular as Balmbra continued to run it into the 1860s. Two years before he sold it on to Thomas Handford, Geordie Ridley first performed the Blaydon Races on the first floor. You'll notice he actually mentions the music hall in the first verse:

“I took the bus from Balmbras
And she was heavy laden
Away we went along Collingwood Street
That's on the Road to Blaydon”

It’s still sung on the terraces of St. James, plastered all over Blaydon town centre, and traditional folk bands still sing it in pubs all over the area. The legacy of Balmbra’s cannot be understated.

Due to its popularity, landlords who owned the site after Balmbra, who passed in 1868 held nightly music events and extravaganzas throughout the 19th century. It was the centrepoint of evening entertainment on the Bigg Market for decades and was a mainstay on the Cloth Market until the latter stages of the 19th century.

After a short tenure by Handford, it was taken on by Joshua Bagnall and William Blakey and renamed the Oxford Music Hall. They specialised in variety performances with pantomimes, clowns, burlesque as well as such artists named "General Dot", "Major Mite", "Madame Pleon" and "Miss Mowbray". Sounds like a right hoot.

By the 1880s the music hall scene was hugely popular, and as a result this place suffered. It closed down, returning to sole use as a pub and the reversion of the Wheat Sheaf name. This remained until 1889 when the license was refused due to concerns of gambling and a sheer density of pubs on the market. As such, it became a billiards hall, restaurant and eventually a hotel in the late 1890s. Sadly, the original building set ablaze, and was demolished in 1899. Just before this point its purpose was entirely different, used as a billiard hall and restaurant for the more genteel types of the city.

Very soon after it was caught in a blaze which burnt the whole place down. It was reconstructed as the Carlton Hotel, but to celebrate the centenary of the Blaydon Races it again because a music hall under the name Balmbra's. The new building was designed by Arthur Stockwell, an architect held in great esteem in the city for the previous decades. Of many projects he designed the Gateshead Central Library & Shipley Gallery, the Brandling Villa Hotel, the layout of the first Temperance Festival (Hoppings) in 1882, Gosforth's Tram Car Depot and the former Westgate Road Picture House.

Hopefully, we'll see reopening in the next few years but it's been extensively delayed.