Splott’s only existing pub has been selected for Cardiff’s local heritage list in order to preserve its history and architectural significance.
Regulars at Splott’s last remaining pub have welcomed a move to give it heritage status that will protect the over 100-year-old building from demolition for the foreseeable future.
The Cottage is Splott’s only pub still welcoming local drinkers and has been selected by Cardiff’s council as one of 71 different sites to be listed as a local heritage site.
Landlord Danny Dod said, “Nobody is coming to pubs anymore. They are getting rid of pubs in local areas, so the industry is more concentrated in the city. Going on the heritage list will stop our pub from being knocked down.”
The pub has become the only social space for local drinkers as former businesses in Splott have been preserved but converted into flats or become derelict upon the industry’s decline.
The heritage list identifies sites, buildings, or structures with historic significance. This is used to preserve their history and points of interest for as long as possible.
The Cottage is believed to have opened in the early 1870s. The pub still stands as two conjoined buildings. It is unconfirmed why these buildings were originally built, but it has been suggested that they were developed for retail purposes due to their large yards to the rear containing ancillary buildings, according to Cardiff Council’s Local Development Plan.
Keeping the local pub industry in business is important to Cardiff’s community history. Without a hub or center for local residents to meet, communities become isolated or segregated.
“In this pub, everyone is friends. People will come here and sit for hours with a pint talking to strangers like they’ve known each other for years. You wouldn’t even know by the end of the night. You can’t do that at many places anymore. It’s changed a lot, you know. It’s not like those other old pubs. Its not cliquey, nobody stares when you walk through the door. ” Said Danny Dod
Pubs are being demolished at an alarming rate as they are no longer valued as one of Britain’s most popular social establishments.
In the first six months of 2024, 305 pubs closed across England and Wales, according to real estate intelligence firm, Atlus Group.
Pub regular Tom Seacombe said, “I commute from west Wales to Cardiff as I work for the NHS. I have a place up the road for when I have to stay here. This is my local. I meet someone new every time I come here, I only met these people I’m with tonight. It brings everyone here together. It’s awful that so many are being knocked down. This an interesting pub though, a little rough around the edges. It’s still a proper boozer; they’re just nice about it.”