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Picture source: Peter McDermott

The Kings Arms was situated on the corner of Douglas Terrace and Diana Street.

I drank in the King's Arms many times. I was sorry to see it go. I lived in nearby Colliery Lane. Locally, the name 'King's Arms' was never used - it was always referred to as the Cuckoo. There were many theories as to how the name came about. Futher along Diana Street (on High Buckingham Street) there was a pub called 'The Clock' - so obviously - Cuckoo-Clock. However, a journalist (in the Cuckoo) once told me that the name was coined by miners who worked in the nearby pit - specifically the Cuckoo Seam.  I've checked out the mining history on the internet but there is no record of the 'Cuckoo Seam' workings at that pit. Whereas the Cuckoo is still standing, the rest of the area was demolished for no other reason except that S&N Breweries were able to store a million empty bottles. Of course the real reason is now clearer - the site is one of the most lucrative in Europe - and of course S&N themselves are part of history so to speak.

Bill Kelly

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