History
Early Years
The Old Arcade Public House in the centre of Cardiff has built a reputation as a Sports orientated social meeting place and has been through some interesting times.
Although John Speed’s first map of Cardiff in 1610 indicates buildings on the present site, it wasn’t until early Victorian times that we see evidence of a tavern. By the late 1820’s the Cardiff Town gaol on St Mary’s Street was too small to deal with a growing population and eventually a new prison was opened just outside of the town in 1832. The town gaol was still operative for a number of years after Dic Penderyn was hanged outside Cardiff gaol on the gallows in St. Mary’s Street on 13 August 1831. By then the area behind was turned into a new Indoor Market. In 1835, an arcade was built to access the new covered Market from Church Street. This was probably the first arcade in the centre of Cardiff which, by the end of the nineteenth century, was famous for its multitude of arcades.
Alongside the arcade, a public house was built and in 1844 was named the Birdcage: later to be called the Arcade and Post office, the Arcade Vaults and eventually around 1900 – The Old Arcade. The landlord of the Birdcage was reputed to build wooden cages from floorboard materials and advertise and sell them from the Pub
The Growth of Cardiff
The Old Arcade still fronts onto Church Street overlooked by St John the Baptist church, with the Cardiff Arms Park just down the street to the left. St John’s Church dates back to 1180 and was the chapel of ease to St Mary’s – the Parish church of Cardiff built by the Normans around 1100. Owain Glyndwr’s revolt caused serious damage to St John’s in 1404, and the church underwent several improvements in the 1400s – being partially rebuilt in 1453, and in 1473 Anne Neville, wife of the Duke of Gloucester, later Richard III, commissioned the building of the West Tower. St Mary’s was demolished following serious flood damage when the Severn Estuary flooded in 1607, and St John’s became the primary church in the centre of Cardiff from 1620
The Glamorganshire Canal had provided a slow evolution in the sea trade alongside the wharfs on the River Taff, both of which in the early nineteenth century had a massive boost with the expansion of the Iron trade followed by the Coal trade. This expansion led to the building of the first Bute dock in 1839, followed by the first Taff Vale Railway the following year. For the next eighty years, four further Cardiff Docks were opened, and the railways were constructed to connect numerous valley mining towns to Cardiff. The Industrial Revolution was causing a massive influx of labourers and businesses and the population increased rapidly. In 1849 a Cholera outbreak devastated the town area but the ensuing period to the First World War was one of a continued population growth in Cardiff, which brought an increase in housing and generated numerous sports teams. The Arms Park became central for Rugby and there were nearly one hundred licensed premises in the town centre during that period. The Gild (sic) Hall was on the corner of High Street by Church Street in those days, where several Businesses including Banks were established. The Gild Hall was demolished in 1862, after a new Town Hall was built in 1855 very close in St Mary’s Street as the town expanded. The new Town Hall was eventually replaced by the City Hall in 1905
Brewing in Cardiff
Until recently the Old Arcade was run by Brains Brewery before being taken over by Marston’s, but it wasn’t always owned by Brains. The Brains Brewery was established in Cardiff in 1882 and expanded quickly.
William Mathews was reputed to have founded the original Brewery in Cardiff in 1713 – which probably accounts for the epitaph saying “Brains established in 1713” – although it was over another 150 years before Brains took over the Brewery. In 1835 only two brewers were recorded in Cardiff, but the major industrial boom and the associated rise in the town’s population was to lead to a massive rise in Inns and Brewers
The main brewery was based between Caroline Street and St Mary’s Street and saw many changes in ownership in the early years, becoming known as the Old Brewery. The Thomas Brothers took over the Old Brewery in 1862 and started to purchase Inns – one of which was the Old Arcade. Their sister married Samuel Arthur Brain in 1882, and he then purchased the Old Brewery in partnership with his uncle. The Old Brewery was just down the road from the Old Arcade and, in those days the horse drays delivered the Ale to the Brains Pubs
Although the demand for beer was booming, there were a few inhibiting factors, particularly the building of Temperance Town from 1850. Temperance Town was void of Pubs and built on the reclaimed land on the side of the newly diverted River Taff facing the Old Brewery. The main condition of building the suburb was that there would be no sale of alcohol in the area
The Temperance movement was very strong and in 1881 the Welsh Closing Act was passed by parliament. This restricted the Pub trade and included no Sunday opening but was repealed in 1910. However, Sunday closing was still enforced, and Cardiff did not open on Sundays until 1961
Brains overcame these problems and managed to purchase many more Pubs and supplied many more including Clubs. In 1897 a Bottling Plant was opened between Helen Street and Nora Street in Roath and enlarged just before the First World War
The Cardiff Malting company was opened in 1887 on the corner of Lewis Road and East Tyndall Street on the East Moors. The Victorian malthouse owned and processed malted barley for brewing and was central to the brewing process becoming known as the Maltings
Brains ran the Old Brewery from 1882 until 1999, when they decided to relocate to the old Hancock’s Brewery in Crawshay Street. The Albert Pub at the front of the Old Brewery became the “Yard” in 2003
Evolving Church Street
The centre of Cardiff was to see major changes in the early nineteenth century – including the Gaol which now had to cater for a larger population, the administrative centres such as the Town Hall, the rise in Chapels and Churches and the market developments.
There had been open farmers markets since medieval times and the Indoor Market evolved after the building of the County Gaol in Adam Street. By 1877 the remaining town gaol had closed, and a new Market entrance built on the same site in St Mary’s Street in 1880. Following a major fire, Solomon Andrews rebuilt the new Market entrance in 1891.
As long ago as 1739, John Wesley first visited Cardiff and by 1743 the Cardiff Methodist Society had developed a meeting centre opposite the future site of the Old Arcade.
All these developments changed the area and since the turn of the 19th century, there have been many changes to businesses including the Public Houses in Church Street and adjoining streets. I’ve attempted to show the evolving public houses in street maps, and the following describes the major changes shown. The picture shows a map of Church Street with the premise numbers, which act as an index to show where the Public Houses were
In 1796 the Angel Inn opposite the Castle was run by John Bradley and was the stop-off point for the mail coaches. Alongside and behind the Angel Inn was the medieval quay side of the Taff – now Westgate Street. The Quay area already had several Public Houses, shortly to be increased with the population explosion
The Boar’s Head was mentioned in 1795 on the corner of Church Street and Trinity Street and the Victualler was then Thomas Evans. It became a meeting place for the Bible society as well as hosting Welsh cultural festivals
By 1813, Ye Olde Dolphin was a Public House in Church Street. The host was Tailor Winstone in a Pub that was also known as the Ship and Dolphin. The Shoulder of Mutton was also an established Public House in Church Street with John Howell, the Victualler. The Tennis Court Hotel was on the corner in St John’s Square
In 1830 several public houses were noted in Duke Street such as the Old Green Dragon, The Glove and Shears and the Rummer amongst others. In Church Street, the Boar’s Head was managed by Charles Williams and the Ship and Dolphin by Phillip Hedges
By 1835, Church Street had moved on, and The Boar’s Head had passed over to Martha Williams and the Ship and Dolphin to Mary Brewer. The Shoulder of Mutton was run by Thomas Quelch
The centre of Cardiff was fast becoming a centre of Industry as the key port for a fast-growing South Wales population. This also led to an increase in Malting and brewing. The Eagle Brewery, for instance, was established in St John’s Square. In those days there were no enforced closing time laws, in a time when the roads were little more than dirt tracks, no motorised vehicles, and a long time before radio, television or phones
In 1840, the New Market Tavern in Trinity Street is mentioned – once the Old Market Tavern. The Landlord was Joe Holbrook, who also ran the Circus located in Wood Street. The Market Tavern in Trinity Street was allegedly connected to Church Street by a Lane. That lane seemed to be joined to the back of the Dolphin as can be seen on some older maps. By 1844 the Birdcage was opened and the Public Houses in Church Street were
- 8 The Shoulder of Mutton
- 12 The Ship and Dolphin
- 14/15 The Birdcage
The Boar’s Head appeared to be close to the corner of Trinity with Church Street
By 1849, the “Birdcage” was renamed the “Arcade” and the landlord was David Davis. A Post Office was trading in Church Street by 1855, possibly why the Old Arcade was renamed again to the Arcade and Post Office Tavern. The landlord in 1859 was John Thomas, who was still there in1863
Dolphin House is still inscribed on the doorway of 12 Church Street today and was first mentioned as a Pub in 1792. Shadrach Miles was landlord of the Ship and Dolphin in 1859, and by 1863 it was run by William Williams. The Ship and Dolphin was also known as the Dolphin and the Old Dolphin and around this time, David Lewis became the landlord who later became Lord Mayor of Cardiff. David Lewis was several generations grandfather of Sir David Owen MP. By 1880, David S Johnston was Landlord and by 1896 John Johns had taken over and in 1901 Henry Wells was in charge
In Victorian times a popular name for the hotel or Inn owner was the Boniface, and in 1859, George Jeffries was the landlord or Boniface of the Old Shoulder of Mutton. The Pub became famous due to the exploits of the pedestrian William Gale. In 1878 the Shoulder of Mutton was still trading but it was renamed the Criterion and shortly afterwards Edward J Smith was landlord, and in 1894 it was George Westlake. At the same time, Nell’s Brewery Offices were situated at St Johns Street corner
By the early 1880s, the Old Arcade was called the Arcade Vaults run by William Lowrie. The new look Cardiff Indoor market opened in 1891, and in October 1901, the landlord of the now “Old Arcade” was John Martin. The entrance at number 14 had become a Lock-up Boot shop by 1896 and John Hill now ran the Pub from Number 15. We know that by 1906 the Pub was being upgraded by Brains Brewery.
The 1881 Sunday Closing Act (Wales) had a clear impact of the Public Houses and even after it was repealed in 1911, it was a long time before Sunday opening ……
The Chief Constable of Cardiff produced a report on Cardiff Public Houses in 1903, which noted the Arcade Hotel as having 4 bars and smoke rooms. The Criterion and the Old Dolphin were also mentioned as was the Tennis Court Hotel in St Johns Square, which had been run by Thomas Raymond in 1880. It was still there in 1924 as was the Eagle Brewery next to it. In 1903 the Public Houses in Church Street were
- 8 The Criterion
- 12 The Old Dolphin
- 15 The Old Arcade
The 1909 Licensing report gave all three a good bill of Health
The Tennis Court Hotel at 10 St John’s Street, had itself undergone several name changes. Originally the Kemey-Tynte Arms then the Maply Arms with Nell’s Eagle brewery close behind, it became the Tennis Court Hotel, then the Buccaneer and today it’s the Owain Glyndwr. William Nell’s brewery was sold to Crosswell’s in 1927
The New Market Tavern (20 Trinity Street) was run by Robert Martin in the 1880’s renamed the Market Inn by 1896 and run by James Newton in 1901. It was to change it’s name a few more times in the 20th century
The Old Arcade was definitely called a hotel and managed by Brains Brewery from the turn of the century. In 1923 Mr D Greenwood was the Landlord (possibly owner).
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