Pubs

We’ve previously looked at churches and chapels and remarked how many there were. We’ve also been surprised at how many local farms we had too. So, imagine my surprise when I started to research how many pubs we have, and what a thirsty lot our village ancestors must have been!

Have you ever made a mental list of the local pubs?

Trying to do it in a systematic way (and realising that the parish once was a lot larger), this would be my list, starting from the north:
Hollybush
Plough
(slight divergence eastwards) Fox & Hounds and
Masons Arms, then
Royal Oak
Maltsters
Three Elms
(off to the west) The Crown
(and then, tight to the parish boundary to the south) Birchgrove and
New Inn

Then just south of the parish boundary into Cardiff were:
Three Horse Shoes
Cross Inn

In Tongwynlais:
Lewis Arms
The Ton
Cardiff Arms

In Llandaff North:
Station Hotel
Royal Exchange
The Pineapple
Cow & Snuffers
Three Cups

And in Rhiwbina:
Butchers Arms
The Deri

Not counting sports clubs or the British Legion, I make this over 20 pubs, with 9 still open in Whitchurch village alone

We’ve learned a little bit about the beer houses which started in the 1830s (one called the Farmers Arms was where the Pines now stands); I wonder whether any of the pubs listed started off as beer houses? Does anyone know?

Then there were pubs which have disappeared altogether. Terry tells me about one called The Greyhound. This was a notorious Whitchurch pub which was attempting to renew its drinks licence in 1869 (the magistrate was assured that it had improved its behaviour so the licence was renewed). Does anyone know where this pub was? Then there was another called The Rollers Arms in Llandaff Yard (with an incredible story to share)

There’s too much to write in just one blog, so we’ll re-visit the pubs again in a month or so, to share some of their individual stories. If you’ve got any that you’d like to tell us about, we’ll try to include them

I did wonder about organising a future village walk, to include the pubs. Clearly, this would be very popular and probably greatly oversubscribed. The trouble would be that most folk wouldn’t get past the first two venues, and anyone reaching the fourth or fifth pub would never remember, so maybe not. Too much like the ‘Grog Trot’ of blessed village folklore

And just to finish this article, the sketch attached is of one of our most recognisable pubs, the Plough. This and lots of other illustrations are being prepared for two permanent waymarker boards which will be unveiled in the next month or so. One board will be adjacent to the Three Elms on the Common, and the second at the Library/Hub. These will be part of our legacy for our Walking Whitchurch Heritage year, which was made possible thanks to grant funding from CADW and the Heritage Lottery Fund. The boards will show both locals and visitors some of the features that have made our village over the past thousand years. Look out for them

We’d like to have further boards and walks, but they will have to wait a little while (as we catch our AWEN breath!)

 

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