When male strippers performed at Darlington pub Old English Gentleman

In 1979, as closing time approached, the landlord locked a dozen or so drinkers in the pub and called the police. Three officers guarded the doors as the patrons were quizzed over £2,500 that had apparently gone missing.

Next, in 1980, the police tried to prosecute the landlord under an ancient and little used regulation for “keeping a disorderly house” following appearances by two male strippers, one named Jason and another called Catweazle.

In 1981, the disreputable pub was put up for sale by Cameron’s brewery with a view to converting it into offices. When this plan fell through, in 1982, it became a punk venue which was shut down when extreme right-wing violence broke out after a concert by a group called Red Alert.

In 1984, the troubled venue – which had started life in the early 1800s when it was called The Freemasons Arms – was bought by Ernest and Barbara Williamson, who also owned the Hallgarth at Coatham Mundeville. They gutted the pub and tried to take it up-market.

In the basement, they opened Spats, Darlington’s first wine bar. It featured 40 types of wine and offered “a first class choice of snack meals, such as chilli, lasagne, moussaka, pates and quiches”.

At street level was Breeches Bar. In contrast to the trendy, London-style wine bar in the basement, it was a traditional beer bar “with dark wood furnishings and warm red décor”, and “a large cold display houses a superb choice of home-cooked meats and a large selection of up-market salads”.

Then, on the first floor, there was to be Mariner’s fish restaurant, open every day from 11am to 11pm with deliveries direct from Whitby. It was to serve “high quality fish and chips, served by waitresses in pleasant surroundings”.

An undated picture of Bondgate with the Wimpy beside the Old English Gentleman, probably in the 1970s

However, it didn’t work. “People in Darlington so far just haven’t turned up,” complained Barbara to an Echo reporter later in 1984 as she stood in the empty wine bar. “In Newcastle there are wine bars springing up all over the place, and a couple have recently opened in Middlesbrough, but in Darlington, it is a different story.”

In 1986, the Williamsons moved on, and the pub was relaunched as a real ale venue under the beery name of the Tap and Spile. With the approval of the Campaign for Real Ale, it found its feet again and its torrid times came to an end.

One who witnessed those torrid times – indeed, he might have started those torrid times – was retired Echo legend Mike Amos who, on December 18, 1970, decided to spend a day behind the bar of the Old English Gentleman to see what it was like in the run-up to Christmas.

“What I'd forgotten was that it was the last day of term at Darlington College of Technology, as then it was, and that the students – whether or not over 18 – were intent on a drop or two of Christmas cheer,” says Mike, who recounts the tale in his book, Unconsidered Trifles. “All went well enough, if rather more boisterously than I’d anticipated, until the throng disappeared in the direction of the stairs where two students were engaged in what might euphemistically be termed extra-curricular activity.

“The young gentleman in particular seemed to think that Christmas had come early.

“The landlord, alas, wasn't amused. He threw the whole lot out and closed the pub, prematurely ending my shift as a barman.

“The story made the front page and I added it to the lengthy list of establishments at which I was no longer welcome.”

NEXT door to the Old English Gentleman during these torrid times was Darlington’s first Wimpy Bar, as recent Memories have been telling. It opened in May 1961 and continued into the 1980s.

READ MORE: BATTLE OF THE BURGER BARS

“I was a member of Harrowgate Hill Methodist Youth Club and on most Sunday evenings I and a few of my friends took our girlfriends to the Wimpey for a coffee and what was then a delicious Wimpy burger,” says Ken Tait. “The burgers were a good size and wonderfully meaty in a great sized bun. We spent many a quiet Sunday evening enjoying the Wimpy delights and lots of youthful chatter.”

Ken and his friends then started frequenting a pub on the corner of Duke Street and Skinnergate – we guess it is now an Italian restaurant, and Ken reckons it was called something like “the cornerhouse”. Can anyone tell us more?

“Our night out involved a game of dominoes for cash and to help the beer down, we took turns to walk over to the Wimpy bar and carry back to the pub at least one Wimpy for each of us,” he says. “Those certainly were the days.”

A battered but wonderful picture of Bondgate on May 19, 1965, with the Old English Gentleman centre stage with the Wimpy beside it

“MY friend Howard went to work at the Wimpy when we left school,” says David Scott. “This was a stop gap for him, as he was a drummer and finished up eventually playing for Joe Brown and the Bruvvers.”

Then David turns to last weeks’ front cover picture showing the Wimpy and the Old English Gentleman in May 19, 1965, with a fabulous car in front.

“That Citroën ID19 was my dad's,” says David. “At the time he owned Valley Street Motors and was the main dealer for Citroën in Darlington.”

These Citroens were noted for their futuristic, aerodynamic designs and for their hydropneumatic suspension. Memories’ maths teacher had one of these and the great joy at the end of the school day was see him sit in the driver’s seat, turn on the ignition and then wait until the suspension had raised the rear end of the car so the wheels were completely visible – Mr Scott appears to have his suspension down and so you can only see half of the rear wheel.

READ MORE: SEVEN DARLINGTON RESTAURANTS YOU MAY HAVE FORGOTTEN