
Ferryhill
Eldon Arms, Ferryhill
Last Updated:
13 Sept 2024
Ferryhill
This is a
Pub
54.681310, -1.533195
Founded in
Current status is
Extant
Designer (if known):
Currently closed after COVID
I was so gutted seeing the condition of the Eldon Arms. What an absolutely stunning old Samuel Smiths now fallen by the wayside after closing due to COVID. It's also, worryingly, not listed.
The hotel references the Earl of Eldon who owned vast swathes around Ferryhill. The hotel is first referenced in 1876, not too long after this area first grew, as the home of public auctions in the settlement. Livestock, land and coal rights were all settled in this beautiful hotel which probably served the high and mighty after alighting at Ferryhill Station.
Perhaps these were the industrialists visiting one of the nearby collieries or perhaps frequenters to the Earl of Eldon's estates which sat between Coundon and Sedgefield. In fact, he held dinners here for his tenants half-yearly and ratepayers held elections here for various local officials.
Samuel Smiths ended up taking on the Eldon from at least the 1950s right through to its COVID-induced closure in 2021, which has my heart fully aching. I imagine if they did ever stick a station back here, then the redevelopment of the Eldon in conjunction would keep it trundling along. Prime Wetherspoons material this if that happened. I adore the polychrome brickwork pattern which appears to be a trend from local landowners in Durham. Something desperately needs to be done before it falls apart.
Listing Description (if available)


Both maps above illustrate the Eldon and surrounding Ferryhill between the 1890s and 1910s. The community built up considerable over the previous couple of decades, but ironically very close to where a cluster of ancient settlements settled given this was the site of the Great North Road. Collieries, quarries, sand pits, railways and lime working all supported the development of the area requiring facilities like the Eldon to accommodate travelling officials and guests of Eldon himself. It stood at the absolute prime spot in the settlement - an instant landmark when disembarking the train.
It expanded further in the 1910s, and you can see the row leading down Chilton Lane. A new post office and several rows were built. The Auction Mart previous lining the railway ended up at the station.

Taking it back ever so slightly to the 1850s, before the area underwent dramatic change. The dominant employer was Little Chilton Colliery who had constructed rows in the 1840s around it. These ended up becoming the shoots of the Chilton Lane settlement. The station already saw itself with properties, likely railwaymens cottages, limekiln workers and perhaps a public house on its left side. It was also a toll road as seen by the "Ruddhill T.P" on the road north.
The Eldon in its gorgeous but forlorn state in 2024
The hotel in the centre left of the shot. Source: Northern Echo
A colourised postcard of Ferryhill Station with Rudd Hill in the background. Probably circa 1910s, original source unknown.