Cardiff Pubs and Breweries

Once a pocket of pleasure in a stern, dry nation, Cardiff’s soaked streets were almost mopped up by the withering blasts of the temperance preachers and the emergency restrictions of the First World War.

Illustrated with over 100 old photographs, postcards and promotional advertisements, this book looks at the beers and breweries which vanished and the one which survived. It reveals why the Chief Constable of Cardiff sent his officers on a massive pub crawl more than a century ago. It discovers the street where four boozers once stood side by side and the classic, forgotten bar, locked away above a fast-food restaurant.

Glimpses of the working and social life, including pictures of staff at the Ely Brewery and some of the pubs’ more lively clientele – those who found themselves ‘drinking in the dark’ – are also featured; each image recalling the fascinating social history of Cardiff’s brewing industry and appealing to anyone interested in the history of the city’s licensed trade.