For 150 years the Rompney Castle has been a focal point for the community but now it is closing down.
A long colourful history is about to become rubble. The Rompney Castle was built around 1872 with tales of it being a favourite spot among pirates.
The pub is on the verge of getting demolished and will be replaced by one-bedroom apartments as well as a shop and parking spaces.
But many members of the Rumney community want to protect it.
Jacqueline Parry is a local Labour councillor. She says, “Please don’t take it away from us. It’s part of our lives and we want to keep it part of our lives. People have used it and they want to continue using it. Also, if you look at it, the building is absolutely iconic. We do not want to lose it at all.”
Ian Malcolm is the Vice Chairman of the Romney History Society. He has been a resident of Rumney for sixty years. He says the building needs to be protected.
“I feel that the council should put up a preservation order on the existing building because it is a historic building which has been in the heart of the village for a long time. If the council puts a preservation order on it, they can convert the interiors of the pub and keep the building”, he says.
Historic buildings watchdog Cadw say the building’s architectural and historic value are limited by uPVC windows and a modern interior and does not meet the criteria for them to list the historic pub.
Bernadette Hurle lives next door to the pub. She says, ” Ideally I would’ve loved it to have been repurposed in some other way to serve the community but that hasn’t happened.”
But although many community members are working hard to save the pub, there are some that believe Rumney needs to keep up with the changing times.
Cardiff News Plus asked developer Sudhir Sehrawat for an interview but he declined.