Brick by brick, city’s historic pub is slowly being rebuilt
Although it closed in 2012 and quickly disappeared, famous Cardiff pub the Vulcan is being rebuilt. Thomas Deacon reports
THIS IS the first look at work to rebuild one of Cardiff’s most famous former pubs. The Vulcan pub was controversially shut down in 2012 and was taken down brick by brick.
St Fagans museum carefully dismantled the pub and a specialist team has now started the rebuild.
Now the Western Mail has had an exclusive look at the famous boozer, and people will once again be able to order a drink once it’s finished in the next three years.
Around 5,000 people signed a petition in 2009 to keep open the pub, which counted members of the Manic Street Preachers among its customers.
Officially the Vulcan Hotel, the old boozer was built on Adam Street in 1853 to serve the mainly Irish community of what was then called New Town. During its time serving customers it saw major changes in the city before finally closing its doors in 2012.
The National Museum Wales historic building team then dismantled the famous landmark brick by brick before moving it to St Fagans the same year.
St Fagans said that during the last eight years the site has undergone £30m of redevelopment, opening new galleries and buildings.
Now that the redevelopment is complete, they are turning their attention to the Vulcan.
Head of St Fagans National Museum of History Bethan Lewis said: “It’s fantastic to see the building work starting on the Vulcan. The pub will be a welcome and unique addition to the Museum’s collection of historic buildings.
“This is an important part of Cardiff’s heritage and gives us the opportunity to tell some of the area’s rich history.”
Curators have already started collecting stories from former customers and landlords of the pub.
Jennifer Protheroe-Jones, Principal Curator - Industry, at Amgueddfa Cymru, said: “When it is open, The Vulcan will be displayed as it was in 1915, an important year for the pub.
“At this time, it had just undergone a major refurbishment that saw its distinctive green and brown tiles added to the frontage, as well as a redesign of its interior.
“Our curators have already been out and about conducting oral histories with former customers and landlords of the former Adamsdown pub, recording and filming their experiences and memories. We’d love to find out more so if anyone has any stories or photographs or objects related to the Vulcan, we’d love to hear from you.”
Financial support for the project has come from the Simon Gibson Charitable Trust and the Swire Trust.
The museum will be looking for more financial support to complete the project and donations can be made online at www.museum.wales/donate