This is one of Newcastle's many lost watering holes, the Farmer's Rest, as it was on an average day 35 years ago.
Located in the city's Haymarket area, the inn had been a favourite of traders working in the area for decades. An early mention in an Evening Chronicle from 1888, when it was up for auction, described it as "situated at 122 Percy Street on the corner of Prudhoe Place." The premises comprised "an excellent bar, bar parlour, snug, back parlour, kitchen, cellar on the ground floor, and two rooms above."
One hundred years later, in 1988 when our main photograph was taken, the pub was a popular pre and post-match staple for Newcastle United fans heading to and from nearby St James’ Park, and it had become a well-patronised haunt for rock fans during the late '70s and '80s. This incarnation of the Farmer's Rest had been built in 1920, but there had been an inn at the location for around 200 years.
