Hidden away along the old Glamorgan coastal road from Rhoose Village within the hamlet of East Aberthaw is the picturesque Blue Anchor pub. The Blue Anchor is reputedly named from the blue hued mud present in the locality which would cling to the anchors of moored vessels. With its thatched roof, small windows, crooked interior and open fires, the Blue Anchor personifies a rural British pub of popular imagination.
(Photo of the Blue Anchor taken in the early 1960's)
Although
it is suggested the Blue Anchor has been established as a hostelry since 1380,
there is no sound historical basis for this claim. The building that is now the
Blue Anchor was indeed constructed sometime during the fourteenth century but
built as a farmhouse and was associated with a form of late medieval manorial
copyhold land tenure. Connected with this farm building was a substantial sixty
two acres of farmland. This building continued to be used as a functioning
farmhouse into the seventeenth century where a yeoman farmer named Jenkin
Spencer occupied the house, eventually dying there in 1647 leaving a
considerable estate.
The
farmhouse was enlarged during the eighteenth century and it is most likely
around this point it became the Blue Anchor pub, no doubt becoming a popular
stop-off point for the sailors and merchants who would have frequented the
area. The Blue Anchor would also have been a popular place for members of the
rural working community with many men frequenting the Blue Anchor after a hard
day's work in the fields.
(View of Aberthaw village c 1938)
In 1732, customs officials from the Port of Cardiff wrote to London
to advise that smuggling activity had increased along the Glamorgan coast,
particularly at Barry and Aberthaw. In 1735 there is an account of a large
seizure of rum at Aberthaw. The accounts describe two men observed returning
suspiciously from a ship anchored here; the men were quite
drunk. When confronted the drunken men, Thomas Sweet and Richard
Forest, proceeded to taunt the customs official saying that, 'they had a mind to have a
little fun with them,' intimating that they had hidden
smuggled brandy on board their vessel. The men were caught red handed that very
night unloading barrels of brandy under the moonlight: the smugglers attempted
to escape on horseback across open countryside but were quickly apprehended
Throughout
the eighteenth century, Aberthaw was a smuggling hot spot and it is almost
certain that the Blue Anchor would have been mute witness to many acts of
smuggling which were endemic along the Glamorgan coast during this
time. It's likely that the smugglers themselves frequented the Blue
Anchor, perhaps even working with the publican to conceal contraband from the
authorities.
(Early twentieth century view of the Blue Anchor and Aberthaw village)
The Blue Anchor
caught fire in 2004 which destroyed its ancient roof beams and thatched roof,
but was thankfully put out before it could engulf the rest of the
building. The roof was restored not long after the fire and the Blue
Anchor remains a popular destination and the perfect retreat from busy modern
life.
©Jonathan
and Mark Lambert 2018
The right of Jonathan and
Mark Lambert to be identified as Authors of this work has been asserted in
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