Gateshead
The Honeysuckle Hotel, Coatsworth Road
Last Updated:
20 Jun 2025
Gateshead
This is a
Pub
54.955501, -1.607943
Founded in
Current status is
Extant
Designer (if known):
Now a Tesco Express
Another pub on Coatsworth Road, but this one a smashing survivor which like many is now a mini supermarket - the Honeysuckle Hotel. It's a unique and charming name, though I doubt it made a dent in the spirits of those in the workhouse next door!
It's certainly an old one too, with a previous iteration built on the periphery of the town in the 1830s. At this time it was surrounded by the great and good in large villages and terraces, as well as glebe land and gardens. This surely gives credence to the name and was certainly marketed towards the middle classes of the town. It was put up for auction in 1839 and it featured a cellar, parlour, kitchen, bar and three rooms - likely bedrooms for the hotel. As noted this was an older building and the corner unit of Woodbine Terrace before expansion.
It was certainly well regarded too, having its own Quoits and football club. The landlord in the 1850s, Benjamin Wilson, was also part of the Licensed Victuallers Association so certainly no ruffian.
It was rebuilt at some stage in the 1900s or 1910s and was under the ownership of John Rowell & Son. They were brewers on Gateshead High Street and were founded in 1840. They had a huge portfolio of pubs you'll well know including the Lord Clyde at Byker, the Colliery Hotel at Pelton, the Cross Keys at Dunston and a few on Gateshead High Street. It later became part of the Newcastle Breweries portfolio.
I think it's been closed since the 2000s, and had a decade or so sitting forlorn and was subject to an arson attack. Within the past 8 years or so it's been picked up by Tesco. They've done a great job restoring it IMO.
Listing Description (if available)
These plans are part of the 1838 tithe plan and the first Ordnance Survey of 1862, and depict Coatsworth Road and its environs. The first iteration of the Honeysuckle appears on both, with the original being the end terrace on Woodbine Terrace. This made it one of the earliest buildings on the street alongside The Crown, which will now be the oldest on the whole road. Part of the Woodbine Cottage is still in existence, but is well disguised by more modern developments around it.
You will also notice the Gateshead Union Workhouse, which had disappeared by the 1890s. It was constructed in 1841, and before this there were various smaller sites across the townships. They were consolidated in this new building for 276 workmates, but was replaced very soon after in 1886 by the workhouse at Teams.
The 1950s Ordnance Survey shows a dramatic transformation - a suburbanisation of Gateshead. Over the 70 years prior, the fringes of the town bloated at great scale to accommodate the endless industrial facilitates on each side of Gateshead. Woodbine Terrace persists as it does today, only with the Honeysuckle reconstructed taking its face out of clear public view.
The Honeysuckle under its guise as Tesco Express in May 2025
The Honeysuckle, undated but presumed mid 20th century. Unknown original source.
