The Railway Tavern public house on the town's High Northgate was one of three pubs built in 1826-1827 by the pioneering, internationally influential Stockton & Darlington Railway (S&DR) to serve the needs of its customers. These pubs were in effect proto-railway stations, built before the concept of the railway station had fully developed. Each of the pubs were built next to one of the S&DR’s coal depots, these being expected to be the railway’s primary source of revenue. Darlington’s coal depot was at the end of a short branch line so the Railway Tavern was some 350m from the main line and did not develop into a fully functioning railway station. Like the S&DR’s other buildings, the Railway Tavern was architecturally modest.

Source: The Times December 14, 2023 12:55 UTC