09 – Scotia

The Scotia stands on the corner of King Street and Mile End Road.

The first mention of a pub at this location is the Fountain Tavern in 1867.

There is then mention of a Nova Scotia Hotel in 1871.

In 1874 Robert Schwarz is the Licensee of the Scotia Inn, this is probably a shortened version of the previous Nova Scotia Hotel.

In 1884 Scotia was the name of a tug which sunk off Scarborough; this probably helped reinforce the use of the shorter name Scotia.

In 1899 the council bought the pub in order to allow for road widening of Mile End Road for the new tram system.

Old Scotia,1903 (South Tyneside Libraries, STH0013100)

In 1904 Alexander Deuchar Ltd built a new Scotia with the old one still alongside it.  This allowed easy transfer of the licence from one pub to the other, but both pubs were not open at the same time.

Widened road for trams 1912 (South Tyneside Libraries, STH0010010)

The Scotia is the only pub on King Street now, though it closed in early 2023.

Sources:
British Newspaper Archives
Licensing Records
Terry Ford
Trade Directories

Photos:
South Tyneside Libraries
Ron Lawson, Sunderland Antiquarian Society
Terry Ford