The Seven Stars: An Historic Village Inn

The Seven Stars is one of Ponteland's old pubs. It is generally described as an old coaching inn but this description seems to originate from a photograph dating from 1902 showing a coach and horses pulling up outside the pub, getting ready to change horses. However, this was a special event, taking place long after regular coaches had passed out of use, which only ran for four weeks, allowing people to experience what coach travel must have been like. It only ran from Newcastle to Stamfordham and back and was a day's excursion.

Despite this, the Seven Stars is very old. Its official listings dates the building to the early 19th century but notices carried in local newspapers show a Robert Shotten running the pub in the middle of the 18th century. The name, which is generally associated with religious or mythological roots was commonly found in very old pubs. This and that the pub had its own brewery, does indicate an early date.

When the Turnpike Trust was set up in 1748 to lay the road between Ponteland and Newcastle, their meetings were held in this hotel.

In the early part of the 19th century, the pub was run by Willam Yeaman and his wife. She looks to have carried on running the pub after his death around 1849. The pub hosted meetings, dinners and dances in what was called the Long Room. There was a ball held here on New Years Eve 1857 "which was numerously attended by a highly respectable company. Dancing commenced precisely at nine o'clock, and was kept up with great spirit until four in the morning".

Under Mrs Yeaman, the pub also ran a large marquee at Newcastle Races.

In 1862 Mrs Yeaman retired and the pub and brewery were offered to let. It looks to have been taken over by John Wilkinson, a brewer from Hexham. He ran the pub and the brewery until 1881 when he went bankrupt. The 1881 Census has a George Nixon as Inn Keeper.

It was during the 1880's that recreational cycling started to become very popular. The road from Newcastle being one of the few good roads in the county, Ponteland became a very a favourite destination for Tyneside's cyclists looking for a pleasant day's run. Hundreds would arrive in Ponteland on holidays and other fine days and the pubs, hotels and cafes would supply them with teas and other refreshments. Different cycling clubs were associated with different establishments in Ponteland and for example, in 1888 the South Shields Cycling Club made the Seven Stars their base.

The pub was taken over by William Hogg around 1890 who looks to have been succeeded by Ralph Hogg who was presumably his son. They really focused on the cycling trade. Ralph erected a large shed to the rear of the pub and fitted it with racks which could accommodate fifty bicycles. He also paid an attendant to keep watch over them.

The pub had a good reputation for the meals it provided for dinners and parties. Before coming to the pub, Ralph had been a butcher at Newcastle Market and his diners commented on the meat he provided. One wrote about a Burns Club Dinner he attended in 1902 — "Now that was a dinner to sit down to — a dinner after the old English fashion, with no French names about it, no mysterious sauces, not a morsel served that was not cut from a joint on the table for all to see".

The current building now incorporates a two storied extension on the eastern side. This was originally a separate house of three bays which extended out over where the current driveway to the rear of the pub now is. This was partially demolished sometime after 1913 to give access to the rear of the property.

In recent years, the pub has changed hands on a number of occasions.

In 1927 it was leased and later bought by James Deucher whose company took over many pubs in the North East at this time.

It was put up for sale in 1957 when it was probably acquired by the Scottish and Newcastle Brewery. In the 1990's, in the face of competition from "Real Ale" pubs, Scottish and Newcastle rebranded their more traditional pubs as T & J Bernard Alehouses. The Seven Stars was remodeled in keeping with the new brand

Like almost all the pubs in the area, it faced closure in the 2000's. It changed hands again in 2013 and its former manager Paul Gibb was brought back to oversee another modernisation to give it a new contemporary look - including a new bar, comfortable seating and a lounge area - with the aim of bringing "city centre style" to Ponteland.