Now and Then, former White Horse Inn, Abergavenny

The old Rhymney Brewery pub, the White Horse Inn, 14 Frogmore Street, Abergavenny, dated back to at least 1787 and was demolished in 1965. Rhymney Brewery had owned the pub from 1914. The name is still remembered in the alleyway that still runs off Frogmore Street alongside the present day buildings.

Now and Then, Farmer's Arms, Abergavenny

The former Rhymney Brewery pub, The Farmers Arms, 34  Lion Street, on the corner with Market Street, Abergavenny. The oldest part of the pub is the smaller, left-hand side building which dates back to 1865 at least. Was owned by the Charles Edwards Brewery of Llanfoist until their takeover by Rhymney Brewery and the above photo was taken when the pub was owned by Whitbread. In 1996 the pub changed it's name to the Market Tarfarn. The cattle market once stood opposite the pub.

Now and Then, former London Hotel Abergavenny

Former London Hotel, 23 Monk Street, Abergavenny

Once known as the London Apprentice Inn, this was first recorded in 1787 and by 1914 it was owned by Rhymney Brewery. The pub was converted into flats in 1978 and is now known as St Mary's Court.

NB This was a particularly difficult building to identify as on the original disk, purchased from ebay, the location of the pub is given as Cardiff, however the photos are definitely of the Abergavenny pub!

Now and Then - Greyhound Vaults, Abergavenny

Greyhound Vaults, Abergavenny

Market Street
A former Rhymney Brewery pub that was sited rather oddly directly opposite the former Facey Brewery which was never owned by them! Today the area where the brewery stood has been cleared and remodled as the Brewery Yard.
Also known as the Greyhound Hotel, this closed as a pub in the 1960s or early 1970s. The building is a restaurant today.

Now and Then - Market Tavern Abergavenny

Market Tavern, Abergavenny
11 Market Street

First recorded as the Market House Tavern in 1850, by 1914 the pub was owned by the Charles Edwards Brewery Ltd of Llanfoist who were taken over by Rhymney Brewery in 1945. The Market Tavern closed in 1962.

The modern photograph was taken early in the morning at the Abergavenny Food Festival, when Raglan Cider Mill had their bar in the pub yard – they are not there all the time!

Abergavenny Christmas Food & Drink Fair

Abergavenny looks like the place to be this Sunday (5th December) as the historic market town plays host to their first Christmas Food & Drink Fair.

Not quite as big as their food festival, this winter wonderland for gastronauts will still extendover the Market, the Brewery Yard and the Priory Centre.

Stallholders include:

Ralph's Cider & Perry

The Skirrid Bar with beers from Tudor Brewery

Gwynt Y Ddraig Cider

Kingstone Brewery

Wernddu Vineyard & Winery

Full list of stallholders here but the above ones are the most important. 

Entry is £3.50. The Market Hall, Upper Brewery Yard and St Mary’s Priory Centre, all situated in the centre of the town. Children under 16 get in free if accompanied by an adult!

Author and Blogger Pete Brown will also be doing a tasting at the Priory Centre with his favourite festival ales, including Mary Mother Mild from the Waen Brewery.

Pete will also be launching a gourmet cheese matured with Blackberry Stout, again from the Waen Brewery.

The lost pubs of Abergavenny

From Brew Wales

Local historian and author Frank Olding will be holding a talk tonight at 1930 hrs in the King's Arms pub on the "Lost pubs of Abergavenny". Entrance is £5 on the door in aid of the 2010 Eisteddford in Ebbw Vale. Frank is the former curator of Abergavenny Musuem and published this excellent book on Abergavenny pubs a few years back.

The King's Arms is the brewery tap for the Tudor Brewery

Eclipse Ales

There are a few old advertising windows left in the pubs in Monmouthshire but the most intriguing involves the Eclipse Ales windows in the Coach & Horses, Chepstow and the King's Head, Abergavenny (pictured left). Both these pubs still have their old windows with Eclipse Ales and Monopole Scotch Whiskey. Now I can't find any reference to a local brewery ever producing Eclipse Ales and the Century of British Brewers Book only lists an Eclipse Brewery, off Deansgate, Manchester 1860-1877, eventually acquired by John Lees in 1894. Don't think that is of much help as it would be unusual for the windows to survive over 140 years and to be from as far away as Manchester. The King's Head was owned by Arnold, Perrett & Co Ltd of Wickwar, Gloucestershire, between 1914-1938. The Coach & Horses, Chepstow is now a Brains pub and was formerly a freehouse, so the ownership of these pubs does not help anything.

Below are 3 pictures of the windows of the Coach & Horses, Chepstow.


So over to my readers, anyone know where Eclipse Ales were?

Hen & Chickens, Abergavenny

An old favourite of mine in Abergavenny is the Hen and Chickens. When Brains bought the pub a few years back there were fears that the interior would be completly ruined, what followed was a sympathetic refurbishment that took in the former hairdressers next door to produce a modern pub with an almost unspoilt appearance. The side rooms still exist, the winding staircase around the fireplace is still there, the wooden floorboards happily mix with Victorian floor tiles in the next room. If you did not know this pub had been altered then you would not notice. The real ales on are Bass, Brains SA and Rev James and a guest beer. Today the guest is from Batemans, the delightfully named Miss Lucious. The beer is also nice with a good hoppy aroma and bitter taste. Not going into too much tasting notes today as the taste buds are getting a little tired. Still another good pub to pop into if you are in Abergavenny. Some of the locals are even taking snuff in the pub! Can't fault the place!

Another one bites the dust

It came as a bit of a shock to see the Somerset Arms pub in Abergavenny shut, boarded up and the freehold for sale. I've been using this pub on and off for about 20 years and it was a regular in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide. The 2-bar pub had a thriving trade and served good food. It was also a good community local and even had its own brewery back in the 19th century. The Somerset always supported local breweries and was a rare local outlet for beers from Cwmbran brewery. A sad loss to Abergavenny.

King's Arms, Abergavenny

Abergavenny is also home to the Tudor Brewery, in fact there are 2 breweries, the main one at the Celtic Spirit Company base and a smaller plant at the Kings Arms pub. The Kings Arms is the brewery tap for both the Celtic Spirit Company and the Tudor Brewery. The beers of Tudor Brewery have improved lately, due to a new brewer being employed. The most popular beer is the 3.6% Blorenge - a light and hoppy, thirst quenching beer, in fact this is so good I don't want to try the others but will out of duty to my readers. The Skirrid (the beers are named after local mountains) is a mid-brown 4.2% beer, and is a sweeter, more fruity ale with a bitter aftertaste. Unfortunately the 4.7% Sugarloaf was not on at the time of the visit. The King's Arms is a truly ancient inn, as it was next door to the old Tudor Gate and town wall. Some of the surviving internal partitions still exist and are a possible indicator of the old burgage plots from medieval days. This pub has plenty of character with old fireplaces and wooden partitions, even the former outbuildings, once home to Delafields Brewery, have been enclosed and a cinema has been installed out the back. The food range is impressive as well with an emphasis on local ingredients, even the crisps are local as the Real Crisp Company products are available here. A local pub serving local beers and local food sounds a bit Royston Veasey but it works here in the King's Arms. Right another pint of Blorenge coming up. Live blogged from the King's Arms using the Sony Ericsson k550i.

King's Head, Abergavenny

The Kings Head is situated next to the market hall and Abergavenny has a thriving market with Tuesday being market day. A pleasant single bar pub, the Kings Head only does 2 real ales, Charles Wells Bombardier and a guest, Ringwood Huffkin today. For cider lovers the pub has 8 different bottled Welsh ciders from Gwynt Y Ddraig, the Welsh Cider and Perry Company. Stone-flagged floors, a separate restaurant area and an old jukebox all add to the unique ambience of this town-centre pub. Some etched-glass windows still remain with adverts of long forgotten distilleries and breweries on them. The old ornate fireplace has been somewhat spoilt with a 1970s gas fire but apart from that not a bad town centre boozer.

Hen & Chickens, Abergavenny

After the food fest in Aber, Brew Wales popped into the Hen & Chickens in Abergaveny. Alongside the Brains beers, we discovered a beer from the Otley Brewery, called Amarilo, after the hop of the same name. The Brew Wales editor does tend to have a liking for light-coloured hoppy ales and the Hen and Chicks provide the beer in an excellent condition.

Abergavenny Cinema Brewery!

The King's Arms in Abergavenny, which has already been home to a CAMRA beer festival is now home to the only cinema in the town. Owner Ben Jones has converted one of the outbuildings, originally home to Delafields Brewery into a 60 seat cinema. So as well as taking a meal at this ancient brew pub (it's also home to the Tudor Brewery) you can sit back and enjoy a blockbuster with a pint.
Now what films will be shown at this cinema? Brew Wales have already put together a list of what we will like to see there:

Ice Cold in Aber
One brew over the cuckoo's nest
The (Marstons) Empire Strikes back
Schindler's Pist
The Hopfather
Lawrence of Beerarabia
A clockwork Blorenge
Monty Python and the hoppy grail
The Maltese falcon
The 39 Sips/Sups
Four Wadworths and a Felinfoel
National Velvet Stout
Home Brew Alone
The Full Malty (obviously)
Stairway to Heaven (aka A Matter of Life & Death)
The Man With Two Brains
The Spiling
A Room With a Brew
The Third Manns
Oh Mr Porter
Anymore suggestions welcome!

The previous cinema is now a chav-palace called the Coliseum run by JD Wetherspoons.

If you do visit the Coliseum, make sure you have a look at the poster with a member of the Klu Klax Klan on it! I'm not joking, it's near the window. The poster is an advert for the film "Birth of a Nation", directed by DW Griffiths, who was of Welsh parentage.

The controversial poster in your Abergavenny 'spoons

For more information on this film and its view of history, check out the Wikipedia page on Birth of A Nation