01 March 2009


Dear Sir/Madam,


I enclose an application to list The Vulcan Hotel, 10 Adam Street, Cardiff, CF24 2FH.


This application is the product of several months' research and I believe that it includes much information about The Vulcan that CADW has previously been unaware of. I therefore ask that CADW take this new information into account when assessing the application.


Previous applications to CADW


I am aware that several unsuccessful applications to list The Vulcan have been made to CADW in recent years.


I understand that the reasons for CADW rejecting previous applications to list The Vulcan are mainly twofold:

  1. its age, falling just outside the 1701-1840 bracket used by CADW; and

  2. significant remodelling to its interior.


To address these points briefly at the outset, I would point out that there are many listed pubs in Cardiff that are younger than The Vulcan, a selection of which are included in Appendix A of the application.


Secondly, the interior has in fact not been remodelled since 1914 (see the 'Architectural significance' section of the application). Compared to many pubs across the city, this actually makes The Vulcan's interior unique in its historic nature. The atmosphere inside The Vulcan is that of a traditional pub, in stark contrast with the endless homogeneous chain-pubs that have taken over most other parts of the city centre.


The current context


In December 2007 owner of The Vulcan and surrounding land Derek Rapport submitted planning applications for the complete redevelopment of the Adam Street site. If approved, these plans would necessitate the demolition of The Vulcan. However, these plans have been on hold ever since submission and have not yet come before the Council's Planning Committee.


Despite this fact and the collapse of the property market in the months since December 2007, the landlady has nevertheless been issued with a demolition date of 25 June 2009. I therefore urge CADW to consider the new information presented in this application as a matter of urgency.


The campaign to save The Vulcan


We have been running an organised campaign for several months. The help of local AM Jenny Randerson has been invaluable, while local MP Jenny Willott has also supported the campaign. Their letter in support of listing can be found in Appendix B.


We held a public meeting at the start of February that was attended by over 100 people, including Jenny Randerson AM, Jenny Willott MP and Neil McEvoy, Deputy Leader of Cardiff Council. Our 5000-name petition has recently been submitted to the Petitions Committee at the National Assembly for Wales. Almost one third of all Assembly Members have signed Jenny Randerson AM's Statement of Opinion calling for The Vulcan to be saved, which can be seen in Appendix C.


I would be happy to accompany CADW staff should you decide to visit The Vulcan, and I am of course happy to answer any questions you may have about my application.


I look forward to hearing from you.


Yours faithfully,


 


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Application to list The Vulcan Hotel, 10 Adam Street, Cardiff, CF24 2FH


“This building, fully functioning, is one of the few such remaining to signal the mix of Industry and Popular Culture that has been at the heart of modern Cardiff's identity, and particularly that working-class presence which from Butetown to Newtown has been systematically destroyed with no protection offered either its communal or architectural heritage.”


(Professor Dai Smith, Chair of the Arts Council of Wales)


This application is the product of several months' research and I believe that it includes much information about The Vulcan that CADW has previously been unaware of. I therefore ask that CADW take this new information into account when assessing the application.


I have organised my research into the following categories: architectural, cultural and historical/social.


  1. Architectural significance


The Vulcan Hotel is reported as having been built in 1853. As its first appearance in local Trade Directories is in Wakeford's edition of 1855, there is no reason to refute this date.


Noteworthy architectural features



1914 alterations: Fred J. Veall


Cardiff architect Fred J. Veall made significant alterations to The Vulcan in 1914. Fred J. Veall is associated with many listed buildings in South Wales. He was the sole architect behind the Grade II* listed General Offices at Ebbw Vale Iron and Steelworks, erected in 1914.


The plans of Veall's 1914 alterations to The Vulcan can be found at the Glamorgan Records Office (reference number: BC/S1/19273). He took out the final Smoke Room in order to expand the front bar to its present size, installed the urinals in their current style and location and changed the Club Room and bedroom layout on the first floor. His vision for The Vulcan remains intact to this day as the layout has not been altered since.


Photographs of Veall's 1914 plans for The Vulcan are included in Appendix D.


Veall made similarly significant alterations to S.A. Brain's Old Arcade Hotel, Church Street, Cardiff in 1896.


John Newman says that Veall's listed offices at Ebbw Vale are “the most spectacular demonstration of industrial self-confidence...The strung-out composition towards the road has to be seen to be believed” (Gwent/Monmouthshire Buildings, Pevsner Buildings of Wales series, 2000, p.222-3). The offices are currently the centre-piece of the multi-million pound redevelopment of the Iron and Steelworks site.


In addition, the following listed buildings were designed by the Veall & Sant firm:


Veall & Sant also made alterations to the following listed buildings:


Support


The following have all written letters in support of listing The Vulcan:



These letters can be seen in Appendix E.


  1. Cultural significance


Chair of the Arts Council for Wales Dai Smith recognises the importance of The Vulcan to the creative arts in Cardiff when he states,


“its prime position opposite the new creative energies of the Atrium* should ensure a new and appreciative clientele, one aware of the role The Vulcan has played in the intellectual life of Cardiff and for whom its now almost unique features will speak for continuity of common purpose and fresh creation.”

* University of Glamorgan's School of Creative and Cultural Industries

Dai Smith's full letter in support of listing The Vulcan can be found in Appendix F.

Writers and poets


The Vulcan has been home to a group of respected and acclaimed authors and poets for many years. It has also given birth to a literary movement (see the 'Wales Half Welsh' anthology under the John Williams entry below).


Cardiff author John Williams organises regular get-togethers for writers at The Vulcan as it offers inspiration and is an ideal place for the group to share ideas. In Rachel Trezise's words, it's about “getting together to talk about our work, because writing is a lonely business.”


Members of this group include:

John Williams was born in Cardiff in 1961 and has written four novels based in Cardiff: 'Five Pubs, Two Bars and a Nightclub' (1999),' Cardiff Dead' (2000), 'The Prince of Wales' (2003) and 'Temperance Town' (2004). All these novels have been translated into several languages, spreading the story of Cardiff around the world.


The Vulcan was used as a location in 'The Prince of Wales', and in John's words the pub “precisely encapsulates the city's soul”.


The Vulcan was also the place that inspired a literary movement. It was in The Vulcan that the idea to produce 'Wales Half Welsh', an anthology of new Welsh writing, was born. In his introduction to the book, John writes:


‘All of a sudden it was becoming clear that something was happening here. The feeling coalesced one afternoon when we were sitting in the back room of the Vulcan, a time warp of a pub where it’s forever 1975 and the Brains beers are cheap and the toilets are outside in the rain and the bikers come down every Saturday lunchtime. ‘We’ were Niall Griffiths and Desmond Barry and the poet Lloyd Robson and myself, and we were talking about Harry Crews, the wild man of Florida fiction, and we were suddenly all happy to be here in Cardiff over the road from the prison, a bunch of writers talking about writers from across the Atlantic. And not just happy but amazed, because Cardiff in particular and Wales in general has for so long been a bit of a desert for fiction.

So I was sitting there thinking that maybe we were the start of something. And it’s not the Algonquin, the Vulcan, but it’s profoundly steeped in the history of the city (and you can’t get a pint of dark in the Algonquin). Then we got to talking about producing an anthology of this nascent New Wave, a collection which would mark the fact that on a bright Welsh winter’s day at the arse end of the year we unexpectedly found ourselves in the middle of a literary movement.’


John's letter in support of listing The Vulcan is in Appendix F.


Rachel Trezise was born in Cwmparc, Rhondda in 1978. While still a student, in 2002 she released her first novel, 'In and Out of the Goldfish Bowl', to great critical acclaim. This prompted Harpers and Queen magazine to proclaim her as “the new face of literature”.


In October 2006, Rachel won the inaugural Dylan Thomas Prize for 'Fresh Apples', a book of short stories describing life in the Valleys. The Dylan Thomas Prize is awarded to “the best published writer in English under the age of 30 from anywhere in the world” and is the world's richest literary prize.


Rachel's letter in support of listing The Vulcan is in Appendix F.



Peter Finch is Chief Executive of Yr Academi Cymreig, the Welsh National Literature Promotion Agency and Society for Writers. He has also published 25 books of poetry and is the author of several guide books to Cardiff and Wales.


Peter's letter in support of listing The Vulcan is in Appendix F.



Music


The Vulcan has been a long-time favourite drinking spot of James Dean Bradfield, vocalist and lead guitarist of the Manic Street Preachers. The Manics are one of the most successful British bands of all time. They have had six top ten albums and fourteen top ten singles and have won many awards, most significant among them the Brit Awards for Best Album and Best Group in 1997 and 1999.


James Dean Bradfield's letter in support of listing The Vulcan is in Appendix F.


Renowned Cardiff band 'The Hennessys' frequently played at The Vulcan in the 1960s. Many of their songs such as 'Farewell to the Rhondda', 'Tiger Bay' and the capital's anthem 'Cardiff Born' have become folk classics. The Hennessys represented Wales at the Festival Interceltique de Lorient in 2002.


Earlier this year The Vulcan was the location for a music video of up-and-coming Cardiff band 'The Future of the Left'. They will play the world-renowned South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas later in 2009.


Film


The Vulcan has recently been used as a location for 'Mr. Nice', a film about the life of the notorious Kenfig Hill-born Howard Marks. This film will showcase The Vulcan and South Wales around the world.


BAFTA award winner Rhys Ifans plays the title role and has signed the petition urging The Vulcan to be saved.


Photography


Renowned French photographer Gauthier Deblonde was inspired to photograph The Vulcan during a visit several years ago. Deblonde has photographed many famous people, including football manager Arsene Wenger, primatologist and anthropologist Jane Goodall, painter Sir Howard Hodgkin, fashion designer Ozwald Boateng OBE, actor Ralph Fiennes, rock star Michael Stipe, chef Ken Hom, architect Zaha Hadid, actor Derek Jacobi, and singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright.


Deblonde's photographs of The Vulcan are in Appendix H, including one of John Williams inside the pub.


Famous patrons


In addition to James Dean Bradfield and the authors and poets listed above, Lord Neil Kinnock has visited The Vulcan many times over the years. Neil Kinnock was Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party from 1983 to 1992. He has also served as a European Commissioner (1995-2004) and is currently Chairman of the British Council and President of Cardiff University.


His letter in support of listing The Vulcan is in Appendix I.


Rough Pub Guide


The Vulcan was placed eighth in a recent book listing Britain's 50 most unique drinking experiences. The book – 'The Rough Pub Guide: A Celebration of the Great British Boozer' – said of The Vulcan,


“If you looked up the definition of ‘perfect city centre pub’, there would be a picture of The Vulcan Hotel right next to it. No nonsense and unreconstructed, The Vulcan is beautifully tiled outside, warm and wooden inside. The Vulcan should be protected as a listed building. Without somewhere like this for future generations, people will think the only places we boozed in were Irish theme bars.”


The book (and The Vulcan) featured in the Travel section of The Guardian in December 2008, with the article stating,


“If this pub is forced to close its doors, it'll be a tragic day in the Welsh capital.”


[http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2008/dec/08/rough-pub-guide-british-bars?page=2]


One of the authors of the book, Robin Turner, has written in support of listing The Vulcan. His letter can be found in Appendix J.


  1. Historical/social significance


For over 150 years The Vulcan has served the people of Cardiff, from the dockers who helped make Cardiff what it is today, through workers from the East Moors Steelworks whose output served the world's development, to students at the University of Glamorgan's new Atrium building.


Newtown and Cardiff's Irish immigrants


The Vulcan is of remarkable social significance as it is the sole remaining building with any link to Newtown, the area of Cardiff colonised by Irish immigrants escaping the Great Famine in the 1840s and 1850s. The Vulcan housed Irish labourers during the construction and development of Cardiff Docks.


Although it has now largely been airbrushed from history, Newtown was one of the earliest modern suburbs of Cardiff. It was home to five pubs of its own (West Bute Dock Hotel, East Bute Dock Hotel, the Crichton Arms, the Duke of Edinburgh and the Cambridge Hotel) but was practically entirely demolished in 1972.


During a visit to Cardiff in February 1997, former Irish President and ex-UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson said,


“It is right to remember the victims of the Famine and the survivors who made their home in Wales.”


The removal of The Vulcan, the last remaining link to the Irish of Newtown, would erase the final visible monument to those immigrants who made Cardiff their home.


Local context


The Vulcan is the last business of what was once a bustling commercial and residential area. Appendix K lists some of the businesses that existed in Adam Street in 1875 and 1884.


A map of the area in 1880 and a Google Earth map from 2006 are provided in Appendix L for comparison. The maps clearly show that The Vulcan is far and away the oldest building in the area and is the only building remaining from before Cardiff's great expansion in the second half of the nineteenth century.


'Peerless' Jim Driscoll


Jim Driscoll was born in 1880 in Ellen Street, Newtown. He is one of Wales's greatest boxers having won the British featherweight title in 1906, the Empire title two years later, and the very first featherweight Lonsdale Belt in 1910.


As former Newtown resident James Barry pointed out to me,


“it is inconceivable that anyone from the Newtown area who ever took a drink would not have used The Vulcan at some stage...[including] boxer 'Peerless' Jim Driscoll.”


When he died in 1925 over 100,000 people lined the streets of Cardiff for his funeral. Jim Driscoll ended his life as landlord of the Duke of Edinburgh back in Ellen Street, Newtown.


“Given the way landlords socialise it would be downright bizarre if he had not used The Vulcan on a regular basis” (James Barry).


Pubs of Cardiff


According to Cardiff Council's Historic Records Project of 1987, the 1828 Beer Act fueled a golden age of public houses and inns between1850 and 1875. Built in 1853, The Vulcan is one of the few remaining pubs from this golden age, having lived through Cardiff's boomtown days at the turn of the twentieth century.


In addition to the five Newtown pubs mentioned above, a phenomenal number of public houses have been demolished in this part of Cardiff over the years. A selection of historic pubs lost to Cardiff from Adam Street and three surrounding streets (Bridge Street, Bute Street and Bute Terrace) can be found in Appendix M. That these four streets alone have lost forty pubs is an indication of the destruction wrought on Cardiff's historic public houses.


The Vulcan's links with Cardiff


For a number of years at the start of the twentieth century, The Vulcan was owned by the Nell family's Eagle Brewery. Founder William Nell was one of the earliest brewers in Cardiff and was a prominent member of Cardiff Town Council. Incidentally, Fred J. Veall added a bottling store and beer cellar to the Eagle Brewery on St. John Street in 1896.


The Eagle Brewery was taken over by Crosswell's in 1927. The Chairman of Crosswell's in the early 1930s was Bill Tatem, an iconic figure in Cardiff's history. Tatem rose from humble beginnings as a sailor to become Chairman of Cardiff Shipowners' Association, High Sheriff of Glamorgan and, in 1918 (and reportedly thanks to a considerable donation to David Lloyd George), Lord Glanely.


Tatem was a horse-owner and won six classic races, including the 1919 Epsom Derby. He was awarded the Freedom of Cardiff in 1928 and two years later a bust of Tatem was installed at City Hall. Crosswell's was itself bought out by the Rhymney Brewery in 1936.


For many years, the Chairman of the Eagle Brewery Major John Griffiths Jones, son of Caradog. Caradog (Griffith Rhys Jones) was a celebrated Welsh violinist and conductor who “built up Welsh valleys fame in choral singing to a magnificent crescendo” (Brian Glover, Cardiff Pubs and Breweries, 2005, p.55). In 1872 he took his Côr Mawr to compete at London's Crystal Palace, won, and returned to Wales to huge acclaim. He repeated the feat the following year. A statue of Caradog stands in the centre of Aberdare.


  1. Appendices


A: A selection of listed pubs in Cardiff that are younger than The Vulcan.

B: Letter in support of listing The Vulcan from Jenny Randerson AM and Jenny Willott MP.

C: Jenny Randerson AM's Statement of Opinion

D: Photographs of Fred J. Veall's 1914 plans for The Vulcan.

E: Letters in support of listing The Vulcan from:

F: Letters in support of listing The Vulcan from:

G: Some of the many other writers and poets who frequently use The Vulcan, and awards they have won.

H: Photographs of The Vulcan by award-winning photographer Gauthier Deblonde.

I: Letter in support of listing The Vulcan from Lord Neil Kinnock of Bedwellty.

J: Letter in support of listing The Vulcan from Robin Turner, author of 'The Rough Pub Guide: A Celebration of the Great British Boozer' (2008).

K: A list of some Adam Street businesses in 1875 and 1884.

L: Two maps of the local area (one dating from 1880 and one from 2006), showing that The Vulcan is by far the oldest building in the area.

M: A selection of historic pubs lost to Cardiff from Adam Street and three surrounding streets.