Bridge Hotel Vaults, Sunderland

This Grade II listed building can be found at the eastern end of High Street West on the edge of Sunderland City Centre. In the 1790’s it was originally the Sunderland home of the Lambton family. When the nearby Wearmouth Bridge was completed in 1796 it was converted into a coaching inn and renamed The Bridge Hotel. It was listed by Historic England in 1975.

After the landlord was murdered in 1998 the pub didn’t reopen. It then became Lambton House and is partly used by Sunderland Youth Offenders Service. The owners of nearby Vaux Brewery applied for planning permission in 2023 to turn the ground floor into a pub again. The planning application succeeded but work didn’t actually start on site until 2024; it then reopened in November 2024.

The single room bar which occupies the ground floor has wood panelling throughout with a simple, no frills design. The ceiling is painted in a dark brown/purple colour which has the effect of bringing it down and making for a cosy atmosphere. There are no TVs , pub games or gaming machines, just background music which doesn’t distract from any conversations.

The bar is on the right on entry and features four handpulls, serving Vaux’s own real ale plus a regular guest from local breweries such as Darwin, North Pier and Wear Breweries. Note the foot rail at the bottom of the bar counter. There is a nod to the city’s brewery past with a couple of mirrors depicting beer from the original Vaux Brewery, which closed in 1999.

Steps at the end of the room lead up to the ladies and gents, while outside, below the bar windows, can still be seen the original tile work depicting “ Wholesale and Retail Wine And Spirit Stores” and the single word “Billiards”, which of course the pub no longer has.