Pubs a plenty in Cardiff City

[Louis the Amigo]

SALORS PUBS,in 1849, some famous drinking dens' Blue anchor, ship and pilot Hope and Anchor,The Cambrian, The Griffin, jolly boatman, sailors return,to name a few. all in whitmoor lane later called custom house st. Cardiff council whos' many members support the {Temprance movement } Put a free water fountain in the lane to try to stop sailors, going into these drinking dens'?A sign was place on the fountain which read STOP SEAMAN AND TAKE A DRAUGHT THERE DANGER HERE BOTH FORE AND AFT.AND LEARN TO SHUN THAT WICKED CRAFT WHO LOOKS AT YONDER DOOR. THE COMPASS THAT IS STATIONED HERE.Will from danger keep you clear. And show you how to steer, on this dreadful shore, Heed not the the music or the sport hear in the alley or the court. They both entice you to a port, Beset with rock and reef And ere from then you can return, They ll' overhaul the cash you earn ,using you from stem to stern and bring you all to grief!!! What happen to the fountain sign and the compass? Stolen after 5 weeks never to be seen again.

[Keith at Tregenna]

Nice one My Amigo:

Comprising the original Bay, the Docks, and a tiny stretch of land called Rat Island, this is a burgeoning business and tourist part of Cardiff.

The Bute family started building the Docks in 1839, and they became the busiest in the World, even attracting the famous childrens books author Roald Dahl.

At their height, there were apparently 92 pubs in Butetown alone!

Home also of Tiger Bay, made famous by the film of the same name starring Halley Mills.

CERTAIN YOU ALL KNOW:

Cargoes

by John Masefield (1878 - 1967)

This poem, probably inspired by Poet Laureate Masefield's maiden voyage as a seaman from Cardiff Bay is so evocative of the era when Tiger Bay as Cardiff Bay was known in the 19th Century was one of the World's most important industrial ports fuelling a burgeoning trade in coal and iron.

Such was Cardiff Bay's pre-eminent position at the height of the Industrial Revolution that the World's 1st £1M cheque was signed at the Coal Exchange, now a popular club venue...

Towards the latter end of last century the docks area had fallen on hard times, but now is rising Phoenix-like from the ashes now that it has been chosen as the future site of the Welsh National Assembly and the Welsh National Opera.

It is an exciting time for the Bay!

Nowadays the regeneration of Cardiff Bay is happening at a terrific pace with many new developments springing up all the time after the construction of the Cardiff Bay Barrage.

Cardiff Bay, which has a whole host of attractions including Techniquest - an excellent hands-on science museum and the lovely waterfront developments including Mermaid Quay with its many shops, bars and restaurants.

The whole waterfront is redolent with maritime history and makes for an excellent walk with many points of interest to stop at along the way such as the Norwegian Church, the Pierhead Building and the Lighthouse Ship, as well as a very interesting Information Centre which regularly houses exhibitions.

[Jim Brady]

I was on the Pennyworth,sailing day from Cardiff to Bone.I think it must've been most of the deck crowd and me a steward my mates were all on deck.When the pub closed at 3 P.M. we ended up in the "North Star".The next thing was people were shouting anybody off the "Pennyworth here,thats us we said,taxis outside.We piled in and ended up at the gangway.The skipper had sent out taxis looking for us.
The next day we were all logged a days pay and 7/6 each taxi fare.Apart from that we ended up in some right dives in Cardiff.one place we were waiting to go into a guy came out and smashed this guy in front of us right on the top of the head with a hammer!!!
I believe the "North Star" is still going strong.
Regards.
Jim B.

[Doc Vernon]

Hello Louis,
A very nice little Poem on that subject mate,sounds like Cardoff used to have plenty of watering holes ! I suppose not much has changed over the Years!
Also thanks Keith for that bit of info you give ,always interesting to read about new things! (Well things that are not too well known)
Cheers

[Keith at Tregenna]

Spurred on by the Industrial Revolution of the 1790s, the rapid growth of the mining industry in the valleys of South Wales was a key factor in the development of Cardiff Docks.

The building of the Glamorganshire Canal in 1794 saw vast amounts of iron and coal being transported down from the valleys, with the slower barge traffic eventually being replaced by the locomotive-hauled goods trains of the Taff Vale Railway in 1840.

The growing traffic led to the 200ft wide Bute West Dock being opened by the 2nd Marquess of Bute in 1839, followed by the Bute East Dock (46 acres) in 1855, Roath Basin (1000ft x 550ft covering 13 acres) in 1874, Roath Dock (33 acres) in 1887 and the Queen Alexandra Dock (52 acres) in 1907.

By this time, Butetown and the surrounding dockland area had grown into a cosmopolitan, multicultural community known as 'Tiger Bay' with over 45 different nationalities settling in the locality.

Quickly developing a fearsome reputation for its hard-drinking rough house boozers, Tiger Bay is said to have been named after the fast swirling waters in the Bristol Channel which reminded sailors of 'raging tigers'.

Such was Cardiff's explosive growth that by 1880 it had been transformed from a small town into one of the world's greatest ports, with Barry and Cardiff docks handling more coal than any other port in the world. At the turn of the century, Cardiff's docks were handling more traffic than New York!

There have been many versions of how Tiger Bay got its name. but as above the main theory is that seafaring men entering the Bristol Channel to come into Cardiff referred to the very rough water as looking like raging tigers.

Then there were places like the Casablanca, the Quebec, the Big Windsor, the Westgate, the Bute, the Ship and Pilot and many more. There were over a hundred pubs in Tiger Bay, many of which have disappeared now.

Today, the Cardiff docklands area is known as Cardiff Bay and it has been transformed by the Cardiff Barrage that impounds the Rivers Taff and the Ely to create a massive fresh-water lake.

K.

[Geoff Anderson]

As young teenagers living in ElY a district of Cardiff. There was a chalange that used to go around and that was to have a pint and a short, at every pub from ELY to the city center. You would start at the Culverhouse X pub on the then outskirts of cardiff, and drink your way the approx 4 miles into town. Nobody that i knew ever did it. there were over 20 pubs so you could understand why.
Also if i remember right the North star club was owned at one time by an AB, ( able Soloman?) only went in there twice. first time somebody got stabbed and the second time somebody was bottled very badly not a very nice place. I stuck to the local pubs and drank Brains dark.
geoff.

[happy daze john in oz]

Hi Geoff, many tries a similar task in Southampton, but again many failed. I always blamed it on the fact it was too far between drinks, and the fresh air could do you no favours.