Middleton’s Quality Fish and Chips
A fried fish shop from Middleton St George, near Darlington.
Generally considered the nation’s favourite takeaway, fish and chips has proved unendingly popular over the years, and was even one of the few foods not rationed during the Second World War. The dish was at its height in popularity between the First World War and the 1960s.
The shop forms part of The 1950s Town’s Front Street Terrace and tells the important post-war story of a trade hugely popular amongst the working class.
History
Doreen Middleton, who owned the property that we have replicated from 1952, lived on the premises and used part of the ground floor for the preparation of the fish and potatoes which were initially all manually prepared, this was very labour intensive.
Doreen passed away in 2008, aged 86, and Beamish worked with her daughter Rozanne Hall on recreating Middleton’s at the museum. We also worked with the community of Middleton St George to create a 1950s-style newspaper on specially-printed paper that is being used to wrap the fish and chips.
The Range
Photo of range in E Tinlin’s Fish and Chip Shop, Jesmond.
The original chip range was donated to Beamish and was used to inspire the design of the replica the museum is using. This is similar to the range which is in our 1950s fish and chip shop.
1950s Town
Explore our 1950s Town and find out about life in the North East in the mid-20th century.
Food & Drink
Beamish offers a range of food and drink options in each time period of the museum.
Beamish Unlimited Pass
Our Beamish Unlimited Pass allows you to visit again and again after paying just once. So if you’re worried that you won’t be able to fit everything into one day, now you can come back as many times as you like for a whole year!
