The Prince of Wales Tavern North Shields

Probably rare sign pre-2016	New Sign 2016

       

A public house near the Fishquay in North Shields is known locally as "The Wooden Dolly". 

The story of the wooden dollies is told below, but the choice of Edward the Eighth
for the pub sign must be unusual and perhaps surprising that it has lasted.

The Wooden Dollies
The Prince of Wales public house in Liddell Street, is locally referred to as 'The Wooden Dolly' because of a figure which has occupied the lane at the side of the pub since a collier's figurehead was placed there in 1814. Pieces of the WOODEN dolly were regarded as good luck tokens by visiting and local sailors, so it was hacked to pieces and replaced three times over the years, eventually taking the form of a local fishwife. The present garish replacement is horrific. The statue on the right occupies a plinth in Northumberland Square in the centre of town and is a much more faithful representation of the last wooden doll.