The Vulcan, Cardiff

The Vulcan Hotel is an historic hotel and public house, that was located in Adamsdown suburb of Cardiff, South Wales. Scheduled for demolition in 2009, after a long public campaign to preserve what had become Cardiff's oldest public house, in 2012 it was donated to the National History Museum at St Fagans, where it is being reconstructed. HistoryThe Vulcan Hotel was built in 1853, in the early stages of the expansion of Cardiff and the development of the Adamsdown area of Cardiff, with an original address on Whitmore Lane, Newtown. The name Vulcan, the ancient Roman God of Fire, which it kept throughout its existence, referred to the nearby ironworks. Close to the bustling railway station of Queen Street and within walking distance of Cardiff Gaol, the pub was south of the Newport Road in the suburb's working-class area. It was frequently busy over lunch times and in the early evening, patronised by working-class people, often of Irish descent. The building was substantially rebuilt in about 1900, and internally refurbished in 1914 by local architect F. J. Veall, at which time the building was decorated throughout with green and brown ceramic tiles. With a functional and easy-to-clean internal style, while adjoining Victorian buildings were demolished and redeveloped, twice on one side, it remained untouched, both outside and in, except for an occasional coat of paint. The pub retained its brown ceramic urinals, although the rest of the interior was updated in the 1950s. Local writer John Williams commented in 2011:

The Vulcan Hotel is an historic hotel and public house, that was located in Adamsdown suburb of Cardiff, South Wales. Scheduled for demolition in 2009, after a long public campaign to preserve what had become Cardiff's oldest public house, in 2012 it was donated to the National History Museum at St Fagans, where it is being reconstructed. HistoryThe Vulcan Hotel was built in 1853, in the early stages of the expansion of Cardiff and the development of the Adamsdown area of Cardiff, with an original address on Whitmore Lane, Newtown. The name Vulcan, the ancient Roman God of Fire, which it kept throughout its existence, referred to the nearby ironworks. Close to the bustling railway station of Queen Street and within walking distance of Cardiff Gaol, the pub was south of the Newport Road in the suburb's working-class area. It was frequently busy over lunch times and in the early evening, patronised by working-class people, often of Irish descent. The building was substantially rebuilt in about 1900, and internally refurbished in 1914 by local architect F. J. Veall, at which time the building was decorated throughout with green and brown ceramic tiles. With a functional and easy-to-clean internal style, while adjoining Victorian buildings were demolished and redeveloped, twice on one side, it remained untouched, both outside and in, except for an occasional coat of paint. The pub retained its brown ceramic urinals, although the rest of the interior was updated in the 1950s. Local writer John Williams commented in 2011: