West Harton
The Victoria Hotel, West Harton
Last Updated:
30 Dec 2024
West Harton
This is a
Pub, Hotel
54.970835, -1.439423
Founded in
Current status is
Extant
Designer (if known):
Henry Grieves
Now operating as The Winskell
This is The Winskell - originally the Victoria Inn then Victoria Hotel. It's always fantastic to see the original tiles on these late 19th century builds.
The Victoria is a name linked to this plot for many decades prior. In fact, we can date it exactly to the late 1840s/early 1850s as it does not appear on an 1839 tithe award (when it was a garth owned by the Straker family - a pit, brick & shipbuilding dynasty) but springs up by 1855.
There are scant references this early, but we can see by 1855 there was a small corner building which will have served the fast developing pit community around Harton Colliery, sunk in 1841. By 1850 it was ran by a Mr Richard Pearson, originally a butcher from Fatfield turned publican living upstairs. He remained here until sometime in the 1860s when it was passed to a Mr James Auld.
The pub was fully rebuilt in the early 1890s, with designs produced by a Mr Henry Grieves. He designed quite a few buildings in this area including The Scotia in the centre of Shields and the Harton cemetery chapels.
It was finished by 1893 with the landlord in this decade being a Mr Winskell - hence the modern name. It was one of many pubs rebuilt around this period to glamourise their image as inns were getting a nasty reputations as hovels. Providing a few more floors brought about a new income stream for rooms, especially for those staying for the nearby colliery. He hosted dinners and luncheons for organisations across north shields including the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants and the Harton Victoria Cricket Club.
It looks like it changed its name some time in the 80s or 90s and has remained in the Winskell guise. Though I question the need to rebrand, it's lovely to feature a nod to a historic publican.
Listing Description (if available)
Both these Ordnance Surveys illustrate West Harton from the mid to late 19th century. West Harton developed as a colliery village from the 1840s when the pit was sunk, seen on the right of both plans. A rectangular square settlement developed from the early 1840s next to the Victoria Inn, which will certainly have facilitated the punters. There are gardens and allotments everywhere for self-sustenance too. You'll also notice there was a toll gate here, as the lane was originally part of the turnpike to East Boldon.
The 1890s plan features a West Harton we're much more familiar with, with All Saints Church & the Wesleyan Chapel extant. The new hotel had been built by the time of illustration, and Harton Colliery was still in operation. The railway changed course to reduce bottlenecks and allow access to both the staiths and the Whitburn Colliery line.
Taking a rare step backwards now to 1839, just before the inn was opened. The hotel went on to stand on plot 30 on this tithe award, showing a bare and rural West Harton. At this time only the turnpike and the odd farm stood in these lands, and you'll see it was divided up between various parishes - Harton, Whitburn and Boldon. You'd be well in the countryside at this stage, though it was only two years until the colliery at West Harton opened.
Source: Durham University
The Victoria Hotel under its current guise as The Winskell in December 2024
The Victoria Hotel in the 1980s. Source: South Tyneside Libraries
A second view of the Victoria Hotel in the 1980s. Source: South Tyneside Libraries