Scottish & Newcastle Breweries were once a huge company here in Newcastle that employed thousands of people and they occupied large areas of land to the west of St James Park. For whatever reason the company has slowly pulled out of Newcastle in recent years and the last nail in the coffin was the moving of production and bottling of Newcastle Brown Ale over the river Tyne to the Dunston Federation Brewery. Scottish and Dunston does'nt quite have the same ring to it does it?
S&N sold the land in 2004. The deal meant 14.4 acres of the site have now passed from Scottish & Newcastle Breweries to Newcastle City Council, One NorthEast and Newcastle University who have pledged to use Science City status to enhance the region’s growing reputation for pioneering scientific research and as a key location for knowledge based business.
Here is an old article about the closure. BBC - S&N to close Newcastle brewery.
Most pages on this site start with the most recent photos first but for this page we will start with the oldest first as this is not a page that will probably not get updated again.
12th January 2006
17th January 2006
15th June 2006
8th February 2007
13th April 2007
19th May 2007
21st May 2007
24th May 2007
28th June 2007
12th July 2007
8th August 2007
22nd August 2007
30th August 2007
4th October 2007
5th November 2007
10th January 2008
24th March 2008
2nd May 2008
7th June 2008
22nd June 2008
Controlled Explosion.
The remaining part of the breweries to be knocked down was done with a controlled explosion.
Video of the detonation taken from St James Metro car park.
Video from Chronicle Live features Sir Bobby Robson pressing the detonate button.
23rd June 2008
18th July 2008
15th September 2008
17th September 2008
6th February 2009
From this date onwards my attention shifts to the construction of Newcastle Helix on the same site. Newcastle Photos - Newcastle Helix.
More Information:
- Sitelines - Newcastle, Tyne Brewery
- Sitelines - Percy Street, Newcastle Breweries Offices
- Sitelines - Wellington Street, St Cuthbert's RC grammar school
- Sitelines - St. Thomas Street, Brewery Stables
- Sitelines - Gallowgate, Tyne Brewery office building
- Sitelines - Melbourne Street, malt house
- Sitelines - Wellington Street, brewery visitor centre
- BBC - S&N to close Newcastle brewery
- Wikipedia - Scottish And Newcastle
- Brewery History - Newcastle Breweries Ltd
- Brewery History - Scottish and Newcastle Breweries Ltd
- Grace's Guide - Newcastle Breweries
- BBC - Newcastle Brown Ale memorial saved by church
A fantastic site, great pictures and the maps and videos are superb.
ReplyDeleteLearning things about Newcastle I didn't know, even with my 25 years here!
Many thanks.
Wow great pictures of the brewery, how you get in? I live next to it at the moment and always wondered if you could ever get in and what it looked like behind the big walls.
ReplyDeleteCheers. I did'nt get in the grounds although there is ways in if you don't mind a bit of a climb. :) You will have to mail me if you want to know more as I don't want to say on here.
ReplyDeleteThe shots round the back were taken from the car park of some kind of training centre on what I believe to be corporation Street. As soon as I went in the car park a security guard came over and when I told him what I was doing he said ok as long as I did'nt climb over the 4ft wall from which you can take lots of great shots.
I had a summer job there back in the 70s when i was a student; great wages I recall. can they still call it Newcastle Brown Ale if brewed in Gateshead?
ReplyDeleteAye they still do call it Newcastle Brown. I don't imagine Dunston Brown Ale having quite the same ring to it. :)
ReplyDeleteAny plans to photograph the demolition of the brewery?>
ReplyDeletesad pictures indeed...I worked there for 4 years before closeure, used to work in brewery then the keg plant then the new bottling hall.
ReplyDeleteIt was a good place.
Brown ale will NEVER be the same again...it's bottled in yorkshire now at the John Smiths plant.
I was up there again today and took a few more photos. The demolition is really starting to crack on now.
ReplyDeleteI'll stick some more pics up at the weekend when I empty my camera.
I thought 'The Dog' was bottled in Dunston these days but then I suppose once you cross the Tyne it might as well be bottled in deepest Africa as Dunston or Yorkshire. :)
it was bottled at Dunston for a while...but it was only ever going to be temporary there.
ReplyDeleteWould love to see more pics
I've got another handful of recent photos to go up soon and also a link to a page containing photos taken inside recently. I'll try and get it sorted tomorrow or sometime soon.
ReplyDeletelooking forward to seeing the new S&N pics and the insider ones!
ReplyDeleteI see most of your insider pics are from the old abandoned part of the brewery, this had'nt been used for quite some time hence it looks very grubby in there...used to be quite eery on a nightshift if you wandered around that part.
ReplyDeleteGreat stuff my friend.
ReplyDeleteI used to work there and it's great to see those shots.
I'll be passing your link onto a few of the lads for prosperity sake.
Thank You
Thanks. :) My uncle was a drayman there for around 30 years or so.
ReplyDeleteI've got a few more photos to go up on this page. I'll try and get them up this weekend.
really interesting these photos! - a shame its gone!!
ReplyDeleteAny more to go up?
Thanks. I do have a couple more to go up. I'll try and get them done soon.
ReplyDeleteThere is now almost nothing left of the breweries except the old visitor centre.
I worked there from 1992 'til it closed & I was honestly the best job I've ever had. I was great fun to work with most of the people & there's still regular get togethers. It's a travesty that S&N were allowed to close the site...
ReplyDeleteI hope the new projects that are gonna be built aren't an eyesore...
Aye, we can only hope.
ReplyDeleteThere must have been a hell of a lot of people what worked there through the years as this page gets lots of hits from search engines and its in the top 5 most viewed pages on this site.
Well what a disappointment!! I was just looking up about the brewery as we're heading back into the country with some American friends who love the brew and we thought it would be a good idea to have a tour as I can remember going round there years ago. Looks like we won't get to see (or taste) anything. Would you know of the new site has a vistors centre?
ReplyDeleteCheers Marian
The old visitor centre is the only building that is being kept but I'm not sure for what purpose. I will try and find out though.
ReplyDeleteIt looks kind of lonely standing there all on its own now.
They have just started demolishing the building that backed on to Barrack road and then that is the demolition over. I'll get some more pics up soon.
The Dunston site does not allow visitors to do a Brewery Tour & to be honest there's not a lot to see. There is a function centre adjacent to the Brewery (the Lancastrian Suite)it however is ran by a 3rd party Company & has no NBL memorabilia.
ReplyDeleteThe end of an era. S&N Directors & Newcastle City Council should be ashamed of themselves.... the Old bottling hall was a partially listed building & the roof was the largest supporting multi domed/curved roof in the world. HEATHENS!!!! They also forgot to blow up Pitt Street flats... that's an opportunity missed.
ReplyDeleteYou know your facts, Jonty. It's all news to me.
ReplyDeleteAnd yeh your right about Pitt Street! :)
Memories of the Brewery opening the vents to let the smell out which then drifted over St James's Park whilst I stood in the Gallowgate! A shame another piece of heritage has gone but thanks for all the pictures here which make this exiled geordie smile.
ReplyDeleteNo problem, mate.
ReplyDeleteThat smell you were on about, yeast, I think, went hand in hand with standing on the Gallowgate for me too.
I started going in the late 70's and the smell was almost as enjoyable as the football itself. Actually the smell was probably more entertaining at that time! :)
Hi there, I'm writing a dissertation on the adaptability of post-war office buildings in Newcastle and have chosen the Scottish and Newcastle office block as one of my case studies, which is going to be converted into a hotel. I've got plenty of external photos but I haven't been able to get hold of an internal shots of the office building, don't suppose anyone on here has any do they? Would be great of you did!
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry but I can't help you there. Maybe one of the readers can.
ReplyDeleteThe smell you guys refer to was when we were malting...a bit like warm milk on weetabix.
ReplyDeleteIt would drift for miles on a cold day.
Lovely!
Can anyone give imformation on the Joller Millor Pub Low Fell.It was my local since 1969 and is greatly missed, I used it every night.
ReplyDeleteI worked for S&N as my dad did for 19 years, great firm breaks my heart it's gone .. super photos I used to take admin work underground in the mash tons room, so interesting I loved it .. happy happy days :)
ReplyDelete