ABOUT US

First established on the site of the present pub in two cottages in the 1800s.

The Fat Ox pub was named after the first pub owners Ox, which was of huge proportions and took seven days to walk to slaughter in Newcastle.

The Ox was so famous that crowds lined the route to the slaughterhouse

The slaughterhouse was on the site of the present day Centre for Life in Newcastle and an etching by the Northumbrian artist Thomas Bewick was commissioned and can be viewed in the Hancock Museum in Newcastle.

The present pub is the third building to occupy the site and dates from 1923

Whilst the Fat Ox maintains it’s historical and traditional appearance, the Management, staff, clientele and ambiance are very much of the present day.

During 2009, Whitley Bay Chamber of Trade will be organising a “2009, year of the Ox” festival during which there will be various events held relating to the original “Whitley Large Ox,” several of which events will be centred on the Fat Ox pub. The aim of the festival, in addition to being the anniversary of the slaughter of the Ox in 1789, is to re-create the myth around this magnificent animal as a legend for the town of Whitley Bay.