THE BANTLING CASTLE INN, East Castle

This inn was later renamed the East Castle Inn; It was originally named after the nearby Bantling lime kilns which had castellated tops, giving them the appearance of a castle from a distance.  The kilns were originally built c 1835 and three of the six have been partially restored in recent years.  They stood alongside the Stanhope and Tyne Railway.

The pub still stands on the crossroads, although it became a private house in about 1957.  However,  this was the second building, as the original stood at the opposite end of the village - towards Annfield Plain, although there are now only four or five houses and an equestrian business.  There used to be a colliery, 58 houses, shops, the pub and a small Wesleyan Chapel.  There were also 5 private houses and a primitive railway stop and signal box.

The original Inn was demolished to allow high quality coking coal to be mined from under its foundations.  It was removed to its new site on a licence transferred from the Gateshead Brandy Inn at Blackhill, which was badly damaged by a fire in the late 1930s.  There is evidence to suggest that the original pub dated back to 1858 and possibly 20 years earlier.  By 1935, the public house and the four railway cottages were the only properties in the village with modern sanitation.

An early licensee, Mr Severs, owned a string of "Flappers" or second rate racehorses, which he raced at Consett Racecourse, which was at Caribees Farm, Delves Lane.  Tom Pearson, the next landlord appears to have carried on this tradition for some time.  This gentleman had the distinction of owning the only telephone in the village.   

INTRODUCTION

More than 20 years ago, In 1993, I decided to write up the results of my research into the history of pubs in this area.  Foolishly, I saved it as a document on my hard drive and lost all of it when my computer crashed!  I have recently found a copy of the original draft and many pages of notes but I have lost almost all of the photographs.  I still have some that are my own and these will be added as and when I have the time.  The ones I borrowed were returned to their original owners and are probably no longer available, so I would be delighted if anyone would care to send me information or photographs - email only, please do not send me any precious originals!  And please only send them if they are out of copyright, or if you are the copyright holder and have the right to allow me to publish them.  Please also note that you should send them to the email address shown on the blog or place your email address on the comments section (as the comments are posted anonymously and I cannot reply to them privately).  I will always edit the email address out of your comments before I post them.

The area I am covering is defined by the borders of the pre-1974 boundaries of Consett and Stanley Urban Districts and the Lanchester Rural District.  Sorry, but the Northumberland side of the river will not be included.  My intention is to preserve the public knowledge of the inns and alehouses that have existed in the area before they disappear from memory.  Working Men's Clubs, private members clubs and modern wine bars are all excluded unless they were formerly pubs or beer houses or have some significant historic interest.

This is a work of nostalgia, inspired by a passion for local history, and makes no pretence of scholarship.  Nor does it make any claim to include every drinking place that ever existed, so your help could be very important.