I would often buy a Penny Dip Bun after the baths at Pete’s Snack Bar, that’s if I had a penny in my pocket.
Sketch and details courtesy of Graham Wright.
Pete’s Snack Bar
Picture Stockton Archive
A Pictorial History of Stockton-on-Tees
I would often buy a Penny Dip Bun after the baths at Pete’s Snack Bar, that’s if I had a penny in my pocket.
Sketch and details courtesy of Graham Wright.
Picture Stockton Archive 
Pete’s Snack Bar was popular, four of us traveled from Thornanby often to Pete’s for our dinner, we parked in the street at the rear near the baths, I can still remember how shocked we were when we learned Pete had decided to end his life. This raises the unanswerable question of what on earth was troubling him so much he chose this course of action. RIP Pete, you are still fondly remembered by thousands of Stocktonians.
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Penny dips or on a good day tortoise (mince) pie after the swimming
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I didn’t ever have the penny bun others remember, but my brother and I got a cone of chips every Saturday from Pete’s on our way home from the old Stockton baths. I can still remember the police cars and vans around the shop when he died.
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When WHO died?
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As far as I can recall Pete committed suicide in the shop.
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Yes he did
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Oh dear, sorry to hear that.
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Joyce, did you live in Daventry Avenue??
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Yes! No.9! You too?! I can remember a ‘Mr Jones’ who I used to see coming home from work on his bike when I was a kid playing outside. I can remember him cycling into the avenue. If I’m right, the Jones’s lived on the other side of the road from us and further into the avenue – and I’m afraid that’s the only recollection I’ve got.
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Hey Joyce, yes, we lived in No12 across the road and along a bit. Were you school pals with Teressa Arbuckle and go to Newham Grange.
It was a great place for a childhood, not so good now though.
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Hi Alan. Yes, Daventry Avenue was a good place to be brought up in, then. We had the wood at the back of our house and we kids spent most of our time there, jumping the beck that ran through it, and pretending to ride horses. It was a mass of grasses, trees and wild flowers. My parents left the avenue to go and live in the town just before the wood was razed to the ground and houses built on it. I haven’t been back in years, but heard that it’s a different sort of place now.
Yes, I did know Teresa, and all the Arbuckle’s, really – but they were older than me, so I never knew them well. No, I didn’t go to Richard Hind because I was raised a Catholic and went to St. Mary’s Girls’ in town. So I was friends with the Burke’s (at no. 29?), particularly Angela, although I knew all the girls of the family. Happy days!
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Hi Joyce I lived in Daventry Ave No 26 across the road from Barbara Keys and also went to St Mary’s School it was a great place to grow up as you say the woods to play in and the field and stream. We had a nice piece of flat road outside our house that was ideal for roller skating. Next door at No 24 lived the Batemans and the Wicks family at No 28.
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Teressa Arbuckle later lived in Countisbury Road, Norton. Others in Daventry Ave. you may have known were the Shepherd twins Jean & Joan, the McIntoshs, Johnnie Boston & Joan Llewelyn to name a few.
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I liked the savory duck Pete’s would sell.
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My family moved from Hull to Stockton on coronation day 1953. Our first port of call on arrival was the legend that was Pete’s snack bar.
Continued to call in for a dip bun after sessions at Stockton baths…marvellous.
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Great picture thanks I’d forgotten all about Pete’s.
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Every boy who ever went to stockton old baths will have sampled the delights of Pete’s dip buns……a soggy slice of heaven after a workout in the pool…..we always came out hungry….and would sacrifice our bus fare to the lure of the bun….quality.
Craig
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Went with mates. They had chick dinners…I could only afford a chick bun (a MEAL in a bun!)1956.
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A shilling dinner money from mam.
3d for swimming pool
3d for soup and bun from Petes Snack Bar
6d for sweets (Dainty Bars) from the sweet shop a couple shop down..
🙂
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We often went in Pete’s for a penny bun dip after working night shift at Pickering Lifts
Chris Wilson
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Oh how I remember Pete’s Snack Bar! Unfortunately, a rather unpleasant smell used to emanate from it and, as we passed, coming from school (St. Mary’s Girls) in 1959/60, we used to take our beret off, hold it to our nose and race past, laughing fit to burst. I can remember it to this day!
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Yep remember the chicken in buns, it was really rabbit.
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Brilliant memory Graham. We would do exactly the same. Sit on the stools and wait for it to come up the dumb waiter from the kitchen downstairs. I was still living on dip buns up to going to uni in the 70s. LOL
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I used to do the same after swimming. I only lived around the corner in Thorpe Street.
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I can remember us all going to Pete’s snack bar after we had been to the baths. My next door neighbour used to work there. Loved the penny dip.
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How life & times have changed. In 1950 as a seven year old I would come out of the Victorian swimming baths, Stockton, at 2100, and go round to Pete’s snack bar for a penny dip. This was the dipping of a white bread bun in a tray of the bacon/sausage juices.
Absolutely delicious.
I would then walk to the No 3 bus stop to catch the bus home. I loved standing on the open platform as the bus swung right out of Yarm Road into Hartburn Lane. Had to hold very tight.
And this was a seven year old on his own at 2100 in 1950 Stockton. Todays children have never lived. We obviously had a great life as children – go anywhere, do anything, and only go home when hungry
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Hi My name is Barry Osborne and when I was about eleven years old (late 50’s) I used to deliver buns on my butchers bike to Pete’s snack bar from Ellis’s bakery. Always got a bacon bun.
Kind Regards, Barry Osborne.
Sent from my iPad
>
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I remember Pete’s Snack Bar very well because as a youngster aged between 5 and 9, my parents and I lived with my mum’s mum and dad in the North Eastern Hotel which was directly opposite the snack bar. My grandfather, Chris Yarker was the licensee at the time (the mid-50s) and as a treat, I was often allowed to pop over there and partake of the occasional penny dip bun.
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Loved the onion dip buns – used to get one when I came out of Stockton baths.
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My auntie worked in Pete’s café in the late fifties/early sixties.
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Cool
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Used to go after swimming at Bath Lane.
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I used to go in on a Saturday with my mam for their soup.
Best I’ve ever had and a bottle of Pepsi.
Not the cleanest of places but great food.
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Me to, they were lovely.
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