Now and Then, former Railway Bar, Aberdare

The former Rhymney Brewery pub, the Railway Bar Hotel, on the corner of Commercial Street and Duke Street, Aberdare, is now a Co-Op Bank.

Now and Then, former Heathcock Inn, Aberdare

The former Rhymney Brewery pub, the Heathcock Inn, Aberdare was situated on 'Heath Corner', the junction of High Street and Seymour Street. The pub and the surrounding buildings were demolished in the 1970s for road widening and to build St Mary's Day Centre.

Now and Then, former Green Dragon Inn, Aberdare

The above photo shows the rear of the former Green Dragon Inn after what appears to be a fire, Had a few problems identifying this location but the windows of the Methodist Church on the left, the cast iron decorative railings of the Constitutional Club roof and the spire of St E;vans Church are all visible from this angle. Added to that the road off High Street is called Green Street. The old photo was slightly to the right of the Google Street View image.

The frontage of the Green Dragon shown in it's Ely Brewery. painted before the takeover by Rhymney Brewery in 1959

Aberdare to get a beer Festival!

The town of Aberdare is to get a beer festival in May, on the Saturday 24th & Sunday 25th May 2014. The Market Tavern Pub are hosting the Main Event with support from Grey Trees Brewery. The Marquee will be situated in the Centre of Aberdare in the Market Tavern Car Park.

Now and Then - Cambrian, Aberdare

Cambrian, 60 Seymour Street, Aberdare

Re-opened in 2012 after a period of closure, the Cambrian is situated in a residential part of the town. The pub was originally owned by Anrew Buchan's Rhymney Brewery, then Whitbread and now Enterprise.

Classic Fawlty Towers episode recreated in Aberdare pub

The Boot Hotel in Aberdare is one of those pubs that has definetly seen better days. I've never been in there, in fact it always appears to be closed when I've been past it. The pub did lose its alcohol licence and subsequent appeal back in 2011 "due to the unacceptable level of crime and disorder". That licensee was a certain Anthony Chidgey but his successor and no doubt relative Jason Chidgey has actually achieved more than his predecessor by being sent to prison for 15 months after admitting perverting the course of justice by not reporting the death of a customer at the pub for 4 days as he did not want to damage the weekend trade. The case only came to light when the cleaner went to the police the day of the funeral after her conscious got the better of her. An Aberdare version of the Kipper and the Corpse was played out for 4 days.
Now there is an old joke that there has never been a series of CSI Aberdare as no one there has any teeth and all the people are genitically the same but after reading about this case; a suspicious/unexplained death in a pub which no doubt involved the police and the police surgeon, questions need to be asked about the doctor who certified the death and how the hell a four-day old body was mistaken for one that had died recently? This did happen in late January 2012 so the cold would have slowed down the decomposition but even so 4 days?
More coverage:
Wales Online cover the story here
TNT Magazine
Anorak
Daily Mail
Sun

Red Cow launches a Hop Rocket!

The award-winning Red Cow in Llwydcoed, situated on the outskirts of Aberdare and home to the Grey Trees Brewery will be launching their Diggers Gold beer through a hop rocket this Thursday, 2nd August. A hop rocket is an ingenious device which clamps to the bar and allows beer to be forced through a cyclinder of hops - the first hop rocket in Wales was recently shown at the Great Welsh Beer & Cider Festival where Tiny Rebel Brewery of Newport used it on their already hop-packed beers.
The first 'Hop-rocket night' at the Red Cow will fetaure American Cascade hops being featured in the hop rocket and Diggers Gold beer receiving the treatment. One for the tickers there I'm sure!

Red Cow, 6 Merthyr Road, Llwydcoed, Aberdare, CF44 0YE,

Whitcombe Inn, Aberdare

Whitcombe Inn, 11 Whitcombe Street, Aberdare, CF44 7DA
Open all day.

The Whitcombe Inn is situated on the junction of Whitcombe and Pembroke Street, in this mainly residential area of Aberdare in which the most of the street corners seem to have pubs built upon them. This area of terraced houses was built in the nineteenth-century. The Whitcombe features a decorative pub sign hanging outside of someone playing a violin and a bottle of wine beside his chair.

The pub was originally owned by Rhymney and later Whitbread breweries but today it is a welcoming free house. The pub was first mentioned in 1861 when it was known as the 'Hen and Chickens Inn'. There is a village of Great Witcombe in Gloucestershire and a nearby pub is called the Gloucester Arms, the connection being that this area of Aberdare was built on the glebeland of the nearby St John's Church, founded around 1200, which was owned by the Dean and Chapter of Gloucester. The Gloucester location has dropped its 'h' in recent years.
The Whitcombe Inn has a traditional look to the interior of the pub with wooden fittings throughout, from the panelling around the door to the old bar counter with its intricate joinery and sloping panels. The front bar room also features an interesting collection of old photographs – across one beam are photographs of the old pubs of Aberdare – many have been demolished over the years – and another collection is of old mining photographs – a reminder of the main industry that used to serve this area years ago. The pub features a fireplace in one wall with exposed brickwork surrounding it whilst on the opposite wall a wooden frame surrounds what was once the fireplace there.

The wooden bar features three real ales, all served from gleaming chrome handpumps with Wychood Hobgoblin and Brains SA being the regular beers and the third pump being reserved for a guest ale, the most recent one being Dirty Tackle from Wychwood Brewery in Oxfordshire. Tomos Watkin Taffy Apples Cider and 1879 Lager are also available in this free house.

Either side of the bar are two passageways leading a couple of steps down to the games room with a pool table and a darts board. The pub has very successful teams as is shown by the display of cups and shields in the bar won by the locals over the years.

The pub features two big projector screens for use during major sporting events but usually it is conversation that dominates in this friendly locals' pub.

Free WiFi via The Cloud is also available at the Whitcombe.

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Prince of Wales, Aberdare

Prince of Wales, 21 Victoria Square, Aberdare, CF44 7LB

The Prince of Wales is the third pub in the small but growing empire of Rhymney Brewery's, well, three pubs and is situated firmly in the commercial centre of the town. The Prince of Wales is a welcome addition to the real scene in Aberdare, a town hardly known for its interesting real ale scene. The Prince of Wales only opened a few months ago in what was previously commercial premises, most recently used as a travel agents. Now the pub has been converted into a lively open-plan bar with etched glass windows advertising “Rhymney Cask Ales” and “Purveyors of Fine Ales”. The building is quite distinct, with an unique hand-painted pub sign showing a medieval Prince of Wales in armour leading his troops into battle. The words “Rhymney Brewery” are visible in the mosaic floor in the entrance to this pub and this leads to one large room with the bar counter at the far end. Grey flagstone floors contrast well with Rhymney Brewery rugs in the expansive interior of the Prince. The beams supporting the roof are painted red and contrast with the white walls, moulded ceilings and in-built ceiling lights which provide a contemporary feel to what is basically an old-fashioned beerhouse.

Tables with cast-iron legs and seats are positioned around the walls and one wall in particular features a chimney with a wood-burning fireplace, an unique feature not seen in any other Aberdare pub. The wood-burning fireplace provides welcome warmth during this cold weather as well as being a conversation piece in the pub itself. The stuffed moose head on the chimney-breast does look a little out of place and may be more at home in an hotel run by Basil Fawlty than in a traditional pub. The rest of the interior walls feature photographs of the local area as well as flat screen televisions and a jukebox. Alternative music is provided by the pub piano, another rare feature for any pub.

The bar servery, situated in the far right-hand corner of the pub is made out of light-coloured wood and features 5 handpumps serving beers from the award-winning Rhymney Brewery and include real ales such as Bitter, Dark, Hobby Horse and Export together with any seasonal beers the Merthyr Tydfil-based brewery is brewing. All the beers are served in the brewery's unique branded glasses.

At the rear of the Prince of Wales there is an outside area with a smoking solution. The Prince of Wales does not do any food, this is purely a pub for good beer and conversation.

Aberdare is easily reached by public transport - train from Cardiff or bus from Merthyr Tydfil 

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