Edmondes Arms, Cowbridge

Edmondes Arms, Cardiff Road, Cowbridge, CF71 7EP

Open 4-11 Monday-Friday, 1-11 Saturday, 4-10.30 Sunday

The Edmondes Arms is a stone and brick built pub on the eastern edge of the historic market town of Cowbridge, the stone is the local light-grey Jurassic limestone. The pub was built in 1899 and the date features on the outside of the building together with the coat of arms of the original owner, the Reverend Thomas Edmondes, a major landowner of the town in the nineteenth century. This building replaced two older pubs, one also called the Edmondes Arms and the other called the Red Lion, these were demolished after Hancock’s Brewery bought them in 1895. Both these pubs were in existence in 1835. The pub windows all feature a stained glass panel with ‘Bar’ and 'Smoke Room' on them. The corner doorway has been blocked up and is now called ‘Jack’s Corner’ after a dog that lived at the pub. The present-day doorway leads to a small entrance hall with the bar to the left and the lively games room to the right. The games room features a pool table, darts board and a newspaper cutting with photographs of why ‘Jack’s Corner’ was named. The games room and the rear yard were the site of the original Edmondes Arms.

The bar features wood panelling and rugby memorabilia and there is an original cast iron fireplace to one side. The bar is approximately the site of the former Red Lion pub. A door to the rear of the bar leads through to the lounge which, in turn leads to an outside area with seating. The lounge features a piano as well as more seating. Unusually, the Edmondes Arms still retains most of its original internal layout and has not had dividing walls knocked through to make the pub open-plan.

Wye Valley Hereford Pale Ale and Hancock’s HB are the two permanent real ales on the bar, with occasional guest beers such as Sharps Doombar making an appearance. Regular live music events are held at the pub.

Now and then - Railway Inn Cowbridge

An occasional series looking at old and modern photographs of pubs and former pubs.
Railway Inn, 2 Eastgate, Cowbridge.
The top photo is from the late 1950's/early 1960s, the bottom one was taken in May this year. The pub was formerly owned by Rhymney Brewery as the Hobby Horse sign can be seen in the top photograph.
In 1864 a building on this site was described as ‘a ruinous house, partly taken down’ but had been rebuilt as the Railway Inn by 1871. Closed as a pub in 1969. Has since been an Indian Restaurant and is now Basil's of Cowbridge.

Cowbridge Food Festival this weekend!

Cowbridge Food Festival 29th-30th October
A nice weekend out in Cowbridge beckons this weekend with a Food & Drink Festival in the historic market town of Cowbridge.

There will be a cider tasting at the town hall on the Saturday at 1415 - conducted by myself and Alex from Llanblethian Orchards, using cider from Denis Gwatkin as we have sold out of our own (and we need all the containers for this year's juice!)


Full list of exibitors here
But the important ones are below:
Cwm Deri Vineyard
Glyndwr Vineyard


Gwatkin Cider Co
Gwynt-Y-Ddraig Cider Ltd
Otley Brewery
Penlon Cottage Brewery
Wernddu Wine & Vineyard

In addition the Vale of Glamorgan pub will be holding its annual beer festival during the weekend but the Duke of Wellington will NOT be holding their cider festival, shame it was a popular event.

Journey Planner:

Cowbridge is easily reached from Cardiff or Bridgend via the X2 bus.

Duke reopens after refurbishment

Some news from SA Brain on the refurbishment of one of their historic inns.

Have previously reviewed the old pub here

The Duke of Wellington pub in Cowbridge has reopened after a programme of major refurbishment.

Built in the 15^th century, the Duke is one of the oldest buildings in Cowbridge and the pub’s original features, including exposed brickwork and feature open fires, have been retained in the refurbishment. The result is a quality pub with a traditional feel, yet with some contemporary design touches.

The pub’s manager, Jon Marshall said: “I think the refurbishment has really made the most of the great building and fantastic location. It’s a complete transformation and I’m delighted with the result.”

The pub will open daily at 9am for coffee and cake, with food service hours starting at 11.30am. A new daily changing menu, featuring ingredients sourced from quality British producers, will feature dishes such as a charcuterie sharing board, steak and sea salt burger with smoked Llangloffan cheese, and whole sea bass.

The Duke has also extended its offer on the bar, which, as Jon Marshall explains, is key: "We are still very much a pub. We’ve got five cask ales on the bar, alongside premium lagers and a great range of quality wines and spirits. We’re a place you can come to for everything from a morning coffee, to a pint with friends, to a meal with the family. The refurbishment has created a relaxed, comfortable space that I’m confident new and returning customers will enjoy."

Sunday – ThursdayOpening Hours: 9am – 11pm
Food service 11.30am – 9.30pm

Friday & SaturdayOpening Hours: 9am – 12 midnight
Food Service: 11.30am – 10pm 

Duke of Wellington,  

48 High Street, Cowbridge, Vale of Glamorgan, CF71 7AG
Twitter @DukeCowbridge

Duke of Wellington, Cowbridge

Duke of Wellington, 48 High Street, Cowbridge, Vale of Glamorgan, CF71 7AG

Open all day 

The market-town of Cowbridge was once home to many old pubs and coaching inns and the Duke of Wellington is a rare survivor from those days. This two-story whitewashed building looks small from the outside but this is deceptive as the pub stretches back from the road quite a way.

The pub was not always called the Duke of Wellington and had acquired this name by at least 1844, in honour of the Iron Duke who used to stay here whilst on his way to visit the family of General Picton in Pembrokshire. The first mention of this building as an inn with stables and brewhouse was in 1662, although the building is not named, by 1760 it was called the Half Moon and a few years later may have become the Cowbridge Arms before being renamed again in 1829 as the Black Horse and by 1831 another name change occurred, this time to the Coach & Horses. The Duke of Wellington pub was sold to SA Brain in 1919 and the company still own this historic pub today.

The main entrance to the pub is from the High Street with a short corridor leading to the bar on the right and the dining area to the rear, there is also another room to the left, these rooms are perhaps the remnants of the medieval floor plan of the original building on this site. The bar area is spacious with plenty of seating, exposed stonework and blackened beams. The real ales, served from gleaming brass handpumps are Brains Dark, SA, SA Gold and Bitter or there are bottles of Gwynt Y Ddraig Welsh cider also available. There is also an outdoor area towards the rear with comfortable seating, a real sun trap in the hot weather.

The dining area to the rear was once an open courtyard in the days when this pub was a coaching inn and one of the features from those times is a well which now is now a focal point of the room, although claims of its Roman origins are a bit far fetched.

There is an extensive menu available at the Duke with chalkboards offering interesting additions to the usual pub fayre. Sausages made with SA Gold are one of the specialities and there is even a Reverend James chutney to match the Welsh cheeses on the menu. The pub is open all day and food is served 12-9pm Monday to Saturday and 12-5pm on Sundays.

One of the more unusual features of this pub is the function room at the very rear of the building. Built on the site of the old stables around about the time of the First World War, this is a mock-medieval art deco construction that has to be seen to be believed with its huge fireplace and even a minstrels gallery. During Cowbridge Food Festival in October the pub is the venue of a cider festival with around 30 different ciders and perries on sale.  

Beer festival at the Vale of Glamorgan pub

Photo courtesy of Dom at Welsh Icons

With the Cowbridge Food & Drink Festival in full swing this weekend, where better to go to than the CAMRA award-winning pub, the Vale of Glamorgan, to celebrate their annual beer festival.
The following article was written for the South Wales Echo and published on the 10th October 2009:

The historic town of Cowbridge dates from Roman times but the town layout today is based upon the medieval layout of burgage plots with a narrow street facing side and a long rear area. The rear area was for the workshops, or as in the case of the Vale of Glamorgan pub, a brewery and maltings. The first mention of a pub on this site is in 1780 when it was called the Greyhound but by 1868 the pub had acquired its present name. The brewery continued in existence until 1914 when it was bought by Hancock's of Cardiff. Today there is still an old Hancock's Brewery Toastmaster sign on the wall outside the pub but the Vale of Glamorgan pub is now a freehouse. As well as the old pub sign, a newer one hangs outside, featuring a rural scene with a farmer and his horse. The sash window has stickers on it celebrating some of the years the pub has been in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide. There are two entrances to the pub; on the right an old archway through which the old brewery horse-drawn drays used to use or the left hand side door with the with the lettering above saying “Entrance to Lounge and Smoke Rooms”.

The welcoming interior features high backed settles on a slate floor at the front, with the wooden-floored bar running lengthwise towards the rear, carpeted seating area which features a stone-built wall. The bar features gleaming brass handpumps, serving the regular real ales, Hancock's HB, Wye Valley HPA and Hop Back Summer Lightning together with 2 guest beers from breweries from across the UK, as well as Mole's Black Rat Cider from Somerset. Above the bar is a large collection of pumpclips of beers this pub has sold over the years. The walls of the bar are decorated with old photographs of Cowbridge and the occasional article on the pub as well as the fireplace with cast-iron range and gleaming brass utensils.

A reminder of the days when this pub was home to a brewery is the door window on the way out to the backyard with “Order Office” etched on to it. The backyard of the Vale of Glamorgan pub features more seating and is covered over once a year during the Cowbridge Food Festival for the annual beer festival held at the Vale, this year the Festival is over the weekend of the 24th-25^th October. The pub is a previous winner of the local CAMRA branch pub of the year.
The Vale of Glamorgan is open all day and home-cooked food is available lunchtimes apart from Sunday. Curries, fish and duck recipes all feature on the regularly changing menu.


Beer List for the Beer Festival, 24th-25th October, all subject to availability

Vale of Glamorgan Brewery VOG 4.3% ABV

Grog Y Vog 4.3 %

+ 1 other

Hop Back Crop Circle 4.2%

GFB 3.5%

Entire Stout 4.5%

Wye Valley Brewery Butty Bach 4.5%

Harvest Hop 4.5%

Wholesome Stout 4.6%

Robinsons Wags to Witches 4% ABV

Holdens Dragons Blood 4.7%

Hydes Rocketeer 4.5%

White Horse Wayland Smithy 4.4%

Moorhouses Pendle Witches Brew 5.1%

Hall & Woodhouse Tanglefoot 4.9%

Brains Rev James 4.5%

Rhymney Bitter 4.5%

Theakstons Old Peculiar 5.6%

Black Sheep Golden Sheep 3.9%

Breconshire Brewery Brecon County 3.7%

Ramblers Ruin 5%

Bryncelyn Brewery Buddy Marvelous 4%

CCH 4.5%

Bullmastiff Brewery SOB 6%

Brindle 5.1%

Welsh Black 4.8%

Conwy Brewery Rampart 4.5%

Dare Brewery Falcon Flyer 5.2%

Green Dragon 4.4%

Evan Evans Warrior 4.6%

Cwrw 4.2%

Facers Landslide 3.7%

Flintshire BB 4.9%

Great Orme Welsh Black 4%

Merlyn 5%

Monty's Mojo 3.8%

Moonrise 4%

Celt Experience Bronze 4.0%

Native Storm 4.5%

Otley Dark O 4.1%

OG 5.4%

O8 8%

Plassey Offas Dyke Ale 4.3%

Dragons Breath 6.0%

Nant Mwnci Nell 5.3%

Chawden Aur 4.3%

Purple Moose Madogs Ale 3.7%

Snowdonia 3.6%

The Duke of Wellington pub opposite the Vale of glamorgan pub will be holding a cider festival at the same time with 25 different ciders on, all served in their rear mock-Baronial hall.

Cowbridge Food and Drink Festival 09

This Saturday and Sunday, 24th-25th October will see the annual Cowbridge Food & Drink Festival, held in the historic market town, just outside of Cardiff. Easily accessible by public transport from the Capitol, the Cowbridge Food & Drink Festival is one of the last local food shows of the year.

Full list of exhibitors are available here, but the boozy highlights are below:

Celtic Spirit Co Ltd
Cwm Deri Vineyard
Gwatkin Cider, well Denis and Co would have to be there, it's not a proper food festival without a few pints of Gwatkin cider!

Above: Theresa and Denis at the show last year

Gwynt-Y-Ddraig Cider Ltd , another festival favourite with maybe a new product available?
The Handmade Scotch Egg Co Ltd, okay not a booze producer but something is needed to help the cider go down!
Mosmar Liqueurs & Spirits
Otley Brewery
Penlon Cottage Brewery, will be stocking up on their Chocolate Stout, made with real chocolate!
Tipsy Fruit Gins Ltd
Warcop Ales - Bill picton also had his excellent cider on sale last year at the festival.
Welsh Brew Tea - okay it's not alcoholic but Alan is a CAMRA member!
Wernddu Wine & Vineyard - interesting wines, ciders and perries all made in Wales.

Ticket Prices

* Family Day Ticket £7.00 (2 adults and
* 3 children under 14yrs)
* Adult Day Ticket £2.50
* Child Day Ticket £1.00 (free entry 2 years and under)
* Family Weekend Ticket £12.00
* Adult Weekend Ticket £4.00
* Child Weekend Ticket £1.50

In addition to the food festival there is also a beer festival at the Vale of Glamorgan pub on the High Street and a cider festival at the Duke of wellington pub opposite.

Cowbridge Food & Drink Festival

Smaller than Abergavenny Food Festival which can get too crowded at times, the historic town of Cowbridge is home to a very good food & drink festival this weekend. The full range of exhibitors can be found here but here are a few of Brew Wales' favourites:

Gwynt-Y-Ddraig Cider Ltd
Warcop Ales
Rhymney Brewery
Penderyn Welsh Whisky
Handmade Scotch Eggs Co - try the chilli and dark chocolate Scotch egg - absolutely stunning!
Celtic Spirit Company Ltd
Gwatkin Cider
Welsh Brew Tea
Penlon Cottage Brewery
The Garlic Farm

Admission is only £2.50 for the day and it's a great day out.
Whilst in Cowbridge why not check out the historic pubs as well?
The Duke of Wellington will be hosting a cider and perry festival in the rear hall. This historic pub features a well dating from Roman times in what is now the lounge. The pub was named in honour of the Duke after he stayed here on his way to visit the mother of General Picton who died at Waterloo.

The Vale of Glamorgan, once the brewery tap for the brewery of the same name, now offers a beer festival the same time as the Food & Drink Festival.

More information
Cowbridge Food & Drink Festival
If you enjoy the pubs of the Vale of Glamorgan then there is a leaflet avaialable as a pdf here