I noticed on Friday (9th August 2013) that the demolition of the Brown Jug has started and that the row of houses next to it, seen on the corner of Larkhall Square have already been demolished. Depending on your point of view, drinker or historian, it is sad to see so many of Stocktons pubs either closed or derelict or both and many more quite clearly having a hard time in staying open.
Photographs and details courtesy of David Thompson.
A million to one shot…does any reader happen to have a photo of Owen Carberry Senior ? He was my granddad but I have never seen him. My dad didn’t have any pictures . Nobody seems to have any..I am desperate t o see a photo of him.
What a shame . There was so much family history in that pub. I used to love listening to my dads (hockey) stories about the legendary Brown Jug .Uncle Oweny would have been devastated to see this happen ! So many memories and of course as I grew up I had just a few good nights in there myself. I remember my dad once telling me that he was having a drink in The Jug one night and this donkey came strolling past him in the bar, looked at him and went off into the gents ! Nobody took a blind bit of notice because it just normal there ! Hahahahahaha. superb !
Before I left Stockton in 1970, the Brown Jug was my local from 1962 till then. Sadly, few of the people that were regulars in those days, are still with us. Tommy Allison introduced me to winkling at Kettleness, in 1965. In the years following I would drive people like Jacky Hughes, Russ and Lol (never did know their full names!) down there on similar expeditions. Other characters that got in there regularly. Franky Casey, Henry Hodgson ( who drank Newcastle Brown straight from the bottle. A common practice today, rather unusual then!) Who else? Nicky Butler, Billy Nugent, Alfie Littlefair, Charlie Stoker – and many others who I can still see in my mind’s eye but whose name escapes me. I am nearly 70! I was up visiting my brother last week. I drove past the site of where the Jug once stood and was filled with sadness. Having said that, there’s not a lot from there onwards, in the direction of the town, that is remotely recognisable from how things used to be. That’s progress I suppose.
Hi Colin Brownlee, are you the Colin Brownlee that worked at ICI Billingham ?.
Hi,
Just looked in. Sorry a few years late. Yes. I did work in the labs at ICI Billingham. 1961 to 1964 and then as a student, once again during the summer vacation in the process labs 1968 and 1969.
So they’re knocking down the old Brown Jug my grandad used to drink in . . . . (Sounds like the opening lines of a poem by, say, Kipling). He was Alex Thompson, with his family house in Mount Pleasant where his daughter, my mother Frances May Thompson, was brought up and later taught me to sing, ironically perhaps, “Little Brown Jug don’t I love you.” All that was between the wars, as we used to say. I’m seventy-five now, watching TV for the outbreak of another war, and watching the old pubs crumble to dust. Cheers!
Brings back happy memories. My Grandma – Margaret Goldsbrough lived in 2 Windmill Terrace until it was condemned in the early 70s (?) when she moved to the new Albany Estate. She would never let us walk past the Brown Jug – insisting we crossed over the road. In those days – or certainly the years before – pubs had a very poor reputation – not a place for kids. In the 60s, we lived in Weston Crescent and from Mount Pleasant down to Danby Road there was a back-alley that ran parallel to Norton Road – that was part of our route to Tilery Road School. No such things as school-runs in those days!
Bye, bye, my old home. 244 Norton Road. End of an era.
Do you remember a family named Hall that lived in that row?
Joan, the Hall family lived next door to us – 242. John and his wife (can’t remember her name), Ella, Sonny, Kathleen and Marilyn. Big John Hall and his wife took over the Bellvue chippie and started a small chippie empire. Sonny and Kathleen both ended up running Bellevue in due course and they had two other chippie shops in the family. John and his wife are long gone, Ella went to Oz and has also passed on, Sonny and Barbara live in Norton, Kathleen and her partner also live in Norton, Marilyn went off as a dancer on cruise ships, later became a croupier but I’m not sure where she lives now. Kathleen remains a long standing friend of our family and some of us see her from time to time.
Last I heard of Sonny he was living in Hartburn along from the Hotel (?) on Darlington Road in a big house there.
Sad to hear that the Brown Jug has met it’s demise…. my great grandmother and her family lived on Crisp Street behind the pub and it was her local. During a family reunion in 2008, some of us met up at the pub for a drink with the locals looking surprised at our enthusiasm at standing at the bar and toasting our ancestors. The locals were so lovely and informative, sharing their stories and listening to ours. One of the bar staff proudly showed us the “back room” with the trophies and pictures and also where Crisp Street would have been. He was also telling us all about the dogtrack which used to be a favourite passtime. I am so glad we had that drink at the bar while we had the chance and took some photos!
Another part of my memories away! The first legal pint I had here was bought for me by my father on my eighteenth birthday. My abiding memory was of the half pulled pints under the bar for the shift from the Malleable. Locals got their drinks in before quarter to ten so these dehydrated lads could be served as they walked through the door, taking their salt tablets with the first pint, which went down without touching the sides.
My Dad and uncles (surname Allison) were frequent users of the Brown Jug in the 70’s. A busy local community pub. We even had a dog that would walk up there for crisps and some beer!! It’s so sad to see the past get torn down.. It holds a lot of memories for me in relation to my dad who sadly passed away in March.
Tommy Allison would stand at the Bar in our company. Very knowledgable bloke. He once told me about a goose he had, like walking the dog he would take the goose for a walk in the Rec.
The old picture of The Brown Jug is one of my favourites.
http://picturestocktonarchive.wordpress.com/2007/03/18/the-brown-jug-norton-road-1910/
It’s not just that it’s a much smarter looking place back then, I think it’s the pride being shown by the landlord. I wonder what he would think today.
The Brown Jug pub, whilst appearing contemporary to the houses around it, was in fact originally standing on it’s own, at the head of the bank leading up towards Norton from the bridge over Lustrum Beck, close to the original Mount Pleasant windmill at it’s rear. Presumably horse drawn transportation would pull over, in order to give the horse and the drivers some refreshment after the haul up from the Stockton side. These days, in a modern car, the bank is barely noticeable.