British Taverns and the Cross Keys

I recently purchased a copy of "British Taverns, Their History and Laws", published in 1928 and written by a Lord Askwith. The first page, reproduced below, mentions a Cross Keys pub near Caerleon, which made me wonder where this pub was situated? 

A look at the 1901 Kelly's Directory reveals 5 pubs of that name in the County of Monmouthshire

The Cross Keys in Usk and Cross Keys are still with us and Blaenavon is hardly near Caerleon so that leaves us with Llansoy, a village famous for, well, not much really, apart from an Iron-age hill fort. The pub can be found on an old OS map
 

Picture taken from Google Street view as the former Cross Keys looks today

Llansoy is hardly "near Caerleon" but this pub seems to be the one in question as the roads give it no where to expand to. In the following pages, Lord Askwith takes us on his presumed history of the pub, from the time of the Roman Conquest to the time it loses it's license. Quite a bit of poetic license is taken in that story as the building is probably only a couple of hundred years old and only became licensed after the Beerhouse Act of 1830. About a mile away, the Star, Llanfihangel-Tor-y-Mynydd claims to have sixteenth century origins. Oh well, back to the book!

Now & Then former Prince of Wales ph, Baneswell, Newport

The former Prince of Wales, 1 St Woolos Road/corner of St Mary Street, opposite the former Oddfellows & Foresters, also now closed. Both pubs converted to residential.

First mentioned 1872, 1905 was owned by Phillips Brewery, closed 1958 and license transferred to the new build Centurian ph, St Julians, Newport. The Centurion ph was recently demolished (2020)

For some reason the new Blogger format won't allow me to embed a Google map, so the map link is here

Now and Then, former Glastonbury Arms Hotel, Cardiff

The former Brains pub the Glastonbury Arms Hotel stood at 25 Bute Street in Cardiff and was demolished in the 1980s. The Radisson Blu stands on the site today.
More details of Cardiff pubs from the 1980s are available here

Now and Then, the former Tresillian Hotel, Cardiff

The former Tresillian Hotel, stood on the corner of Tresillian Terrace and Penarth Road, Cardiff, and has long-since been demolished for road-widening, with the Northern end of Tresillian Terrace being demolished to make way for Tresillian Way cutting across it at ninety degrees. In this Wales online article the position of the pub is said to be the site of the Lloyds Bank Group, however, looking at the old maps it is clear the pub was further to the North, as shown below, with a side-by-side comparison of OS six-inch 1888 to 1913 map from the National Library of Scotland collection. The foundations of the front wall of the hotel appear to match up with the grey bricks used to designate the pedestrian crossing.

Now and Then, former Ty-Du Hotel, Rogerstone

The old Rhymney Brewery pub, the Ty-Du Hotel,Tregwilym Road, Rogerstone. Built on the site of an older pub, The Rollers Arms which existed in 1883. Ty-du is Welsh for 'Black House' and is the Welsh name for the area. The advert on the left-hand side of the picture is for Webb's Brewery of Aberbeeg. a rival to Rhymney Brewery.

Now and Then, the former Prince of Wales, Dowlais

The old Rhymney Brewery pub, the Prince of Wales, 105 High Street, Dowlais, Merthyr Tydfil was demolished along with most of the bottom part of this street in the 1970s. South Street runs up to the right of the photo, the lower portion of it today is the footpath seen on Streetview.

Now and Then, former Red Bull Inn, Caeharris

The former Red Bull Inn, High Street, Caeharris, Merthyr Tydfil, has been demolished and housing is on the site today

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, former Prince of Wales Inn, Merthyr Tydfil

The old Rhymney pub, the Prince of Wales Inn, Nantygwenith Street, Georgetown, Merthyr Tydfil has been demolished along with the rest of the street. The Cyfarthfa Brewery once stood to the rear of the pub. More photos of the street here

Now and Then, former Clarence Hotel, Maesteg

The former old Rhymney Brewery pub, the Clarence Hotel, Commercial Street, has been demolished together with the surrounding buildings and Clarence Court flats now stands in their places

Now and Then, former Bridgend Hotel, Tonypandy

The old Rhymney Brewery pub, The Bridgend Hotel, Dunraven Street, Tonypandy, has been demolished with a bus stop and the war memorial on the site today. Note the unusual logo 'Brewers Own Stands Alone' on the wall of the pub

Now and Then, former Thistle Hotel, Tonypandy

The former old Rhymney Brewery pub, the Thistle Hotel, Llwynpia Road, Tonypandy has been demolished to make way for a car park

Now and Then, former Railway Bar, Treherbert

The former old Rhymney Brewery pub, the Railway Bar Inn, Station Street, Treherbert has now been demolished

Now and Then, former Prince Llewellyn Inn, Sirhowy, Tredegar

The former old Rhymney Brewery pub, the Prince Llewellyn Inn, St Luke's Road, Sirhowy, Tredegar has been converted into three terraced houses

Now & Then, former North Western Hotel, Tredegar

The former old Rhymney Brewery pub, the North Western Hotel, Church Street, Tredegar was demolished in the 1970s and a scrapyard appears to be on the site now.

Now and then, former Greyhound Inn, Tredegar

The former old Rhymney Brewery pub, the Greyhound Inn, Tredegar was situated just off The Circle on the corner of Lower Coronation Street and Iron Street.

Now and Then, former Globe Inn, Tredegar

The former old Rhymney Brewery pub, the Globe Inn, stood on the corner of Church Street and Stockton Way. Demolished for road improvements. Another photo of the pub here and also a lot of information about old Tredegar pubs.

Now and Then, former Britannia, Tredegar

The former old Rhymney Brewery pub, the Britannia, Market Street, Tredegar, now converted to residential and known as 'Hen Tafern' or 'Old Tavern'

Now and Then, former Clarence Inn, Rhymney

The former old Rhymney Brewery, the Clarence Inn, Clarence Row, Rhymney, has been demolished for housing

Now and Then, former Three Horse Shoes pub, Maesteg

The former old Rhymney Brewery pub, the Three Horse Shoes, Bethania Street, Maesteg has been demolished for road widening