ANOTHER of Darlington's lost pubs, The Royal Oak, was opposite Doc’s Orders. It was set back from the road, and looks like it was a 1940s red brick construction.

In the 1970s, the landlord was John Stonehouse, a former footballer with Nottingham Forest. He came from an east Cleveland footballing family: his brother, Derek, is a Middlesbrough legend having made 174 appearances for the club which his son, Basil, also played for; his cousin, George Hardwick played for the Boro on 143 occasions and has a statue outside the Riverside stadium, while another cousin, Bobby Smith, played for Spurs, Chelsea and England.

The Northern Echo:

The Royal Oak closed in 2009 and fell derelict. The fire brigade then used it as training venue and so it was repeatedly on fire until it was demolished to make way for the entrance into the new Central Park business centre.