So much more than a watering hole

Bright lights, big city - the Vulcan remains one of the last of its kind, and all that is left of a part of Cardiff long since redeveloped

ONE of the oldest pubs in Cardiff, the Cow and Snuffers in Llandaff North, closed its doors last week. Built in the 19th century, The Cow – as it was known by the locals – is thought to have been visited by Benjamin Disraeli and a bust of the former prime minister still sits at the front of the building. The closure of this historic pub came as rumours circulated that another traditional Cardiff drinking establishment, the Pen and Wig, could be transformed into a trendy wine bar.

It only reinforces the importance of a campaign I’m involved with, to Save the Vulcan.

You may have seen the The Vulcan Hotel, it stands alone on Adam Street in Cardiff, opposite the new Glamorgan University Atrium building. If you’ve ever had a drink in it, you may understand why it needs to be saved.

The Vulcan was built in 1853. Back then, the area was known as Newtown, densely populated with Irish workers who migrated to the city to help build Cardiff’s docks, which were exporting coal from the South Wales Valleys all across the world. Newtown was dominated by terraced housing, industrial buildings and public houses.

In 1882, SA Brain & Co was founded, and in 1903 The Vulcan was one of seven pubs on Adam Street. In 1956, SA Brain & Co acquired the leasehold of the Vulcan, and in 1973 purchased the freehold for £2,500. Fast forward to 2010 and the sole remaining building of the area once known as Newtown is The Vulcan.

I first visited The Vulcan with my Dad in 2008. He told me it was one of Cardiff’s last spit and sawdust pubs. He was right. As we entered, it was love at first sight for me. A tired wooden floor strewn with sawdust. Pictures of old Cardiff adorned the walls. An enormous ship’s wheel and other paraphernalia from Cardiff’s docks were displayed around the pub. Brains beer on tap. I was told that in 1997, The Vulcan was named Pub of the Year by The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA). We sat at a heavy old wooden table with iron legs and sipped our drinks taking in the atmosphere – one I’d never experienced before.

That night I got chatting to the landlady and found out the pub was to be demolished, as part of the St David’s 2 shopping development. I knew I had to help. I had previously been involved in the campaign to save the Pantmawr Inn in north Cardiff and knew that people power could ensure these important establishments remain, not only for the public to enjoy, but for the sake of Cardiff’s historical identity.

A quick search on Facebook showed I wasn’t alone in wanting to save the Vulcan Hotel. Hundreds of people had joined groups on the social media site, calling for the pub to be kept open. I met up with other passionate Cardiffians and the campaign was born.

We created an online petition, and a paper petition for people to sign at the bar. Almost instantly the campaign received high level support. In late 2008, we received a letter of support from then MEP Glenys Kinnock, and BBC sports broadcaster John Inverdale signed the petition.

In January 2009 The Vulcan was used as a location for the Hollywood film Mr Nice, the story of Howard Marks, starring Welsh actor Rhys Ifans. While filming, Rhys added his support to the petition and in the same month Jenny Willott MP and Jenny Randerson AM gave their backing to the campaign.

We decided it was time for real action. We called a public meeting and about 150 people turned up, packing out a lecture theatre at the Atrium building opposite. Getting a drink in The Vulcan afterwards was almost impossible. The pub’s walls were bulging with enthusiastic locals now fired up to fight for their pub.

In February 2009 we held a protest outside the Senedd in Cardiff Bay, and handed over our petition of over 5,000 signatures to the Assembly’s Petitions Committee. Later that month, we launched the Save the Vulcan t shirts which we sold online and over the bar.

In March 2009, following months of research, we applied to Cadw to get the pub listed. The application was supported by Jenny Willott MP and Jenny Randerson AM, who said: “It [The Vulcan] has played a very important role in the history of central Cardiff, at the heart of one of Cardiff’s oldest communities…This Victorian gem should be allowed to continue to prosper and thrive, rather than stand as a hollow monument to the past in a museum”.

The application was divided into three sections:

• Architectural significance – Concentrating on the Vulcan’s glazed tiled frontage, part stained glass frosted windows to the front, cast glazed terracotta urinals, and its wooden partition wall with frosted glass dating from 1914 (currently covered with plasterboard).
• Cultural significance – The Vulcan is home to a group of well respected and acclaimed authors and poets. Letters of support came from Dai Smith (Chair of the Arts Council) and writers John Williams, Rachel Trezise and Peter Finch. The Vulcan is also a long time favourite drinking spot of the Manic Street Preachers front man James Dean Bradfield.  The Vulcan’s musical links go back many years. Renowned Cardiff band The Hennessys frequently played in The Vulcan in the 1960s. Recently, The Vulcan was placed eighth in The Rough Pub Guide’s list of Britain’s 50 most unique drinking experiences, which said: “Without somewhere like this for future generations, people will think the only places we boozed in were Irish theme bars”.
• Historical or social significance – Newtown was colonised by Irish immigrants escaping the Great Famine of the 1840s and 1850s. Newtown was one of the earliest modern suburbs of Cardiff and was almost entirely demolished in 1972. According to Cardiff Council’s Historic Records Project of 1987, the 1828 Beer Act fueled a golden age of public houses and inns between 1850 and 1875. Built in 1853, the Vulcan is one of the few pubs remaining from this golden age.

The celebrity support continued, in March 2009, Welsh Indie Band Future of the Left filmed a music video in the Vulcan and a few days later, Ken Clarke MP visited for a pint.

As Spring 2009 rumbled on, Nick Clegg MP learned to pull a pint behind the bar of the Vulcan, and the campaign hosted stalls at the Plaid Cymru and Welsh Liberal Democrat party conferences – a highlight of which included Lembit Opik donning a Save the Vulcan t shirt for a photocall. In May 2009, The Vulcan was once again presented with Pub of the Year award by CAMRA.

In June 2009, BBC Radio 2’s Jeremy Vine visited The Vulcan and recorded part of his radio show there. We were also given the opportunity to present further evidence to the Assembly’s Petition’s Committee in support of our petition.

At the end of June, some good news arrived. Would-be developer Rapport offered a new three-year lease to The Vulcan. It meant a reprieve for that time at least, but there was still work to be done and in July 2009 Cadw rejected our application to list the Vulcan.

August came along, and I had the opportunity to address an All Party Parliamentary Save the Pub Group in the House of Commons. Following this, the chair of the group, Greg Mulholland MP, sent us a letter of support. Our three-year reprieve win was also celebrated on the Fourth Plinth at Trafalgar Square as part of Antony Gormley’s project, by campaigner Willy Downie. More famous faces visited the Vulcan in November 2009, with the BBC’s Culture Show interviewing John Cale of The Velvet Underground in the pub.

In February 2010, the Assembly’s Petitions Committee made two recommendations to the Welsh Government:

• Recommendation 1. We recommend that the Welsh Government considers the introduction of guidance, or legislation if necessary, to allow the protection of buildings that are of importance for social and cultural reasons.
• Recommendation 2. We recommend that the Welsh Government consults with Welsh local authorities and the WLGA with a view to strengthening the powers available to local authorities to prevent the demolition of buildings that meet the criteria for local listing.

Spring 2010 saw Eddie Izzard and Peter Hain MP visit the Vulcan as part of Labour’s General Election campaign. In April 2010, the Vulcan landlady of 18 years, Liz Smart announced she was leaving. However, Brains showed its commitment to The Vulcan by replacing her with Sandra and Gwyn Lewis who have been running the pub for over a month.

The campaign is not over, and The Vulcan could still close in June 2012. While chain pubs and trendy wine bars have their place in modern Cardiff, I am passionate that we must not let these historical establishments disappear completely.

• If you’d like to know more about the Save the Vulcan campaign, visit our blog or Facebook group. We’re also tweeting at twitter.com/savethevulcan