The Lewis Arms has been added to Cardiff Council’s Draft Local Heritage List consultation. The “Cardiff Local List of Buildings and Sites of Architectural or Historic Interest” focuses on, “locally significant public houses, hotels and clubs (both past and present).”
The consultation runs from 24th July – 18th September 2024.
There’s some information about the history of The Lewis Arms on the Local Development Plan (LDP) website.
I’ve had a history of the Lewis Arms in my backlog for ages, so I thought now was a good time to share with you some of the images and maps I’ve collected to show how it’s changed over the years.
1841
There was a public house on the site of the Lewis Arms (30 on the map below) as far back as 1841. It was recorded as the “Wynham Arms Inn & Cottage” on early Tithe Maps.
Tithes were payments made from early times for the support of the parish church and its clergy. Originally these payments were made in kind (crops, wool, milk, young stock, etc.) and usually represented a tenth (tithe) of the yearly production of cultivation or stock rearing.
Wyndham Lewis MP (1779 – 1838) owned the Greenmeadow estate from 1817.
1875
This Ordnance Survey 25 inch First Edition map from my own collection shows the village and now “Lewis’ Arms” in great detail.
It’s interesting to see how many public houses there are. The Rugby Club was the Cardiff Castle Inn. There are three others on “North Road” but I don’t know which they were.
The “New Inn” and “Castell Coch” were both demolished to make way for the Cardiff Railway in 1897. The “Bute Arms” closed in the 1920s and was demolished.
1885
This 6 inch map shows less detail but you can explore it using the National Library of Scotland’s online viewer.
1900
I’ve enhanced this early photo from the Cardiff Council archive. It shows some interesting details of the building at this point in time.
1903
This image is from a fairly common postcard and shows some fascinating detail from the start of the century.
I’ve enhanced and cleaned up the image to show off the detail in its best quality.
The Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes (RAOB) is a charitable “fraternal order”. I presume the initials on the Lewis mean it was used to host meetings.
“AOF” stands for the “Ancient Order of Foresters“. It was formed in 1834 and is now known as the Foresters Friendly Society. Again, the initials suggest that the Lewis was a local branch.
1948
This image is from a postcard in my collection. It’s dated January 1948 and shows some significant changes in 45 years.
By the inter-war period, the building had seen alteration of this principal front, with its corbelled parapet rebuilt almost flush to the elevation, its windows substantially widened, and it ornate iron porch removed.
1980s
I couldn’t find the source of this photo but I had to include it for the fantastic typography. The “Lewis’s Arms Hotel” is now just “Lewis Arms” and the changes are quite dramatic.
The central door and sign have been moved and the connecting section has a new roof. Both doors on the side have been removed.
1990s
This photo by John Law shows the tragic loss of the 80’s Lewis Arms drop-shadow. Apart from this there aren’t any major changes.
The name of the pub is still just “Lewis Arms” and the sign uses a thinner sans-serif font that makes a return in 2016.
2006
This is how I remember the Lewis. Mustard yellow with hanging baskets, red dragon and the heraldic sign. I don’t know when this facelift occurred. If you know, please get in touch.
The Lewis Arms crest appears in the new black sign hanging on the side.
Thanks to Steve Malpass for this classic photo.
2016
The Lewis had a major facelift in 2016. I took this photo when the work had just been completed.
Its name returns to the top of the facade and the two colour paintwork calls back to the mid-century look. The sign was replaced with a newer version but retained the heraldic crest.
Some 180 years of a public house on this site also imparts considerable communal value.
I hope you’ve enjoyed looking back at the origins and evolution of the Lewis Arms. Which era’s design do you prefer? Would you like to see the Lewis updated again?
There are a few more photos on the history page from Carol and Steve.
I’d love to create similar histories for other local buildings but old photos are hard to find. If you have any, please get in touch.
History in Pixels
I’ve been illustrating buildings in the village for a while now. I created this collection of pixel art illustrations showing the Lewis over the years.
