Part 1, the Closed Pubs
Pill or Pillgwenlly is the docks area of Newport and the area was built in the nineteenth century. Named after the Welsh for 'inlet' and the name of a local saint, the area has been declining for a number of years and has seen a lot of pub closures. Many of the former pubs still stand and have been converted to alternative uses, these photographs show the buildings as they are now. Additional information is from Alan Roderick's book 'The Pubs of Newport' (1997), copies of which are now going for £26 on Amazon!
White Hart Inn, 5 Tredegar Street
First mentioned in 1859, the pub closed around 2000. Now used as offices.
Being opposite the Cattle Market, now the site of Asda supermarket, the pub had extended hours on Wednesdays as these were the market days.
Owners: 1905 Rogers & Co of Bristol, 1938 HG Simonds, Courage, Ushers
Castle Hotel, 28 Commercial Road, on corner with Tredegar Street
First mentioned in 1862 as the Castle Inn and Brewery, the pub shut around 1977. Now used as residential/take away, although it has been used as an amusement arcade in the past.
Owners: 1933 Phillips, 1954 Simonds, Courage.
Welcome Home, 46 Commercial Road, on corner with Dolphin Street
First mentioned 1848, this pub closed in around 1997. Now used as residential. In its last few years the pub was a well-known trouble-spot with stabbings and a shooting.
Owners: 1905 Lloyds & Yorath, Ansells
Commercial Inn, 47 Commercial Road, on corner with Dolphin Street
First mentioned in 1872, this pub shut around 1993, now converted to residential.
Owners: 1905 Phillips, Courage
Windsor Castle, 56 Commercial Road, on corner with Bolt Street
First mentioned in 1872 this pub closed around 1979 and has been converted to residential use.
Owners: Phillips, Courage
Royal Exchange, 161 Commercial Road, was renamed 'Harvey's of Pill'
First mentioned in 1872 the pub closed in 2005 shortly after the death of local gangster Lemmy Bullock who was killed with a samurai sword in the pub by a rival drug gang.
Owners: Lloyds & Yorath, Ansells, Harveys
Black Horse, 66 Commercial Road
First mentioned 1872 as the Falcon, renamed Celtic Bar in around 1982 and named the Black Horse in the late 1990s. Closed around 2006.
Owners: 1905 J T Usher of Bristol
Kings Arms, 133 Commercial Road, corner of Temple Street
First mentioned 1845 this landmark pub closed around 1993. Building is currently derelict and there have been a number of fires at the premises, the most recent one was in the last week.
Owners: Thatchers, Mitchells & Butlers, Bass
Cambrian, 112 Commercial Road,
Rear of building on Courtybella Terrace
First mentioned 1845, this pub closed around 2005 and is currently empty and derelict.
Owners: Thatchers, 1957 Mitchells & Butlers, Welsh Brewers, Marr Taverns, Ushers
Cumberland House, 21 Courtybella Terrace
First mentioned 1872, rebuilt 1891 and closed around 2005.
Owners: Hancocks, Welsh Brewers, private
Part 2 of this piece will feature more of the closed pubs with part 3 focusing on the open pubs (yes there are some!)
my great-grandfather was landlord of the Falcon Inn in the early 1900s (now known as the Black Horse). Photo here http://www.newportpast.com/gallery/photos/php/photo_page.php?search=%20&search2=yyyyyy&pos=634
ReplyDeleteThanks for the photo of the Black Horse - too bad it's shut down. My great-grandfather (Edmund Henry Dodd) was landlord of this pub in the 1900s when it was known as the Falcon Inn. here's a photo http://www.newportpast.com/gallery/photos/php/photo_page.php?search=%20&search2=yyyyyy&pos=634 My great-great-grandfather was landlord of the Oddfellows Arms in Pontnewydd (still open as a pub). My grandfather was landlord of the Tradesman's Arms, Newport -that's no longer a pub.
ReplyDeleteLemmy Bullock was certainly not a gangster, and you do his family and friends a great disservice by calling him that.
ReplyDeleteLemmy Bullock was banned from most pubs in Newport because of his drug dealing and businesses in Pill were told to close the day of his funeral or have a brick through their window. Sorry, I should have called him 'Drug-dealing wannabe gangster scumbag'. The world and pill is a far better place without him!
ReplyDeleteWhoever u are writing these blogs on pubs in pill want to be ashamed of yourselves Lemy bullock was a well respected member of this community unlike the brutal people who killed him people like you writing these blogs should be banned of the internet and brought to justice for your unfounded libel so suggest you correct yourself and by the way this is the last land lady from the welcome home writing this get your history on this pub correct too there were no stabbings or indeed a shooting if u did ur homework correct the shooting was further down dolphin street and the welcome home was a busy community hub who looked after the pensioners and children of the pill community
DeleteWho are you? As you certainly are not someone who knows Lemy Bullock as you would not be wrighting such hideous lies about a well loved man of the pill community! A drug dealing gangster? Where did you get such information? Pubs were shut ?More lies!! You only have to google Lemy Bullocks funeral to see the huge amount of people that attended to pay their respect to a loved Son, Father, brother, Uncle Friend. This is slander at it's worse just to make your boring blog sound slightly interesting. You should be ashamed when the man himself can't be given the opportunity to voice his side of events!
ReplyDeleteAre you denying Lemmy Bullocks's extensive criminal record? Or that he was banned from most pubs in Newport due to his drug dealing? Those are facts. Are you even denying his death involved a drug feud? The world is a far better place without him
ReplyDeleteHis death didn't involve drug dealing you imbecile. Also, he wasn't banned from most pubs in Pill at all. He was welcomed for that matter. Who are you anyway? Probably not even from Pill. I would like to hear from landlords/ladies around Pill and ask them was Lemmy banned or welcomed in their pubs. What a low life you are.
DeleteFacts!?! Do you know the definition of the word ? You haven't wrote one "fact" think you need to go back to your source of "facts" and start again with the truth! his family an friends do not think the world is a better place without him they are still grieving from his horrendous death 10 years on. Now go and do your homework before your write more lies! The only wannabe I see is you
ReplyDeleteU vile excuse of a human bein have a bit of respect for the family and friends of lemy and what he or any 1 else did or does is none of yr gd damn business fact ....... and the only scum bag is u 4 blogin lies
ReplyDeleteA BUILDER who stood up to a gang of thugs was murdered with a samurai sword in his local pub, a court heard yesterday.
ReplyDeleteLemmy Bullock, 36, challenged the gang after they attacked his family and warned them about their "bullying and intimidation".
But the court heard the masked gang confronted father-of-three Mr Bullock in his local pub where he was slashed with the sword by leader Aaron Kent.
and that's the real facts!
Well what a load of shit Brew Wales Lemy was a well liked and loved guy im sure if you didnt want to or say need to look like you can put a good blog up you wouldnt of wrote LIES after all bad blogs that have LIES in do get a reaction so now u fat fucker you got one ru HAPPY SCUMBAG..........
ReplyDeleteyou dont know what your talking about , try to get more likes for your shit blog.....lemmy wasnt a gangster nor was he a drug dealer, and i would love you to show us his crimnal record. What a load of fabrication ...you JOKER
ReplyDeleteShocking piece of fabricated nonsense you've written there!
ReplyDeleteReally?
ReplyDeleteYou have to go to such a level !!
A couple of things outside of your defamatory comments, regarding the memory of man who was someone to everyone.
You have chosen to take pictures of the lesser developed areas, with intent to not only blacken a dead mans name, but an estate as well.
Further you reference a book about pubs from 1997! You sir should rethink whatever career path you think blogging will get you.
Poor quality content and author is vile.
Brew Wales, you clearly are very deluded to the actual facts of the case you seem so certain to know. So as Kelly rightly says this is slander at its worst. Provide your evidence to your upsetting judgements and prove that you are genuine and mean what you say.
ReplyDeleteWhere do you get your "facts" from?
ReplyDeleteHow disrespectful is this pathetic blog.. obviously didnt know Lemmy .. So you obviously shouldn't judge .. He had nothing whatsoever to do with drugs he was a hardworking man ....I suggest you remove this before family see it .. Have some respect !!!!!!
ReplyDelete"The world is a far better place without him", you said. How dare you? What a spitefull self centred person you must be. He was a much loved Son, Brother and Father. No, he wasn't purer than white not many of them growing up in Pill when I lived there. It went with the territory. But as Kelly says you couldn't have possibly known him just a reputation that was falsely reported. As this site is meant to be a walk down memory lane about the number of pubs in Pill and their history. What has this slanderous comment have in the slightest to do with it! Why not remove it and show some dignity and respect to those who mourn his passing?
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comments. Are you denying Lemmy Bullock had an extensive criminal record for drug dealing?
ReplyDeleteYes. I am. And anyway, who are you?...judge, jury and executioner?. You aren't even known by the massive majority of Pill people but yet you seem to speak for the landlords, landladies, shop owners etc when you say they were threatened with a brick through the window if they didn't close on the day of the funeral. That is pure lies and you know it. First off, common decency probably made half the people do it, the other half probably knew Lemy personally and would be glad to do it. This is libellous territory your getting into my friend. Ain't you a wannabe MP?...you need to work on your inter personal skills my friend, then again, most MP's make a living of untruths so you would fit right in. Scum.
DeleteJust a typical keyboard warrior that did not know anything about our late Lemmy ,you must be running scared now as a lot of Newports finest people are looking for you , you silly vile individual .. Retro Ormond
ReplyDeleteThank you all for the threats, it just goes to show the scum of the earth that inhabits the slum called Pill.
ReplyDeleteAs for facts, Bullock had been banned from Newport pubs under the Pubwatch scheme for drug-dealing, the only pubs that would serve him were the ones in Pill, where a blind-eye was turned to his criminal activities. It just goes to show how low the people in that slum are, that they are willing to defend a dead dealer
The Welcome Home was a well-known drug den and you should be ashamed of yourself for allowing it to become one. As for the stabbing, Alan Roderick's book 'Pubs of Newport' mentions it.
ReplyDeleteU dnt knw shit maylte wld love to bump into u hope i do tbh
ReplyDelete