The Fire
On the morning of Friday 20th February, 2004, the thatched roof of the Blue Anchor Inn in East Aberthaw, Vale of Glamorgan, UK, caught fire.
© Pictures courtesy of the Barry and District News
Despite the efforts of numerous fire officers, severe damage was sustained to this wonderful 14th century building.
This BBC report was filed on the day:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_east/3506361.stm
The first reports received were very worrying. A TV station journalist stated that "this is the end of the Blue Anchor for ever". A resident of East Aberthaw who had viewed the scene at close quarters asserted that "the building is completely gutted - nothing left but the stone shell".
For anyone who knows the pub this news was devastating. The prospect that this marvellous, historic venue would be lost after so many years was too sad to contemplate.
Indeed, on hearing the news I reacted as if someone had told me that a dear old friend had suddenly passed away.
Like many other regulars at the Blue Anchor I felt I had to go there. A firm sense of disbelief compelled me to see for myself and I remember repeating to myself in the car on the way "this can't be true".
By the time I arrived the flames were all but extinguished, but I was immediately struck by the smell that was very much in evidence at the scene - the unmistakable smell that lingers after a fire has been extinguished and which immediately reminded me of the aftermath of the fire which destroyed another pub in the Vale many years before, the Three Horseshoes.
The Three Horseshoes had been so badly damaged that it had to be completely rebuilt, minus thatch, and the new building bore no resemblance to that which it replaced. Paul Burgess also reminded me of the similar fate of the Green Dragon, Llancadle, which was rebuilt 'thatchless' back in the late 80's or early 90's. I was afraid that the same would become true for the Blue Anchor.
However, I noticed as I walked around the remains of the building that the curtains in the ground floor snug were still hanging at their windows, and the frames and glass were intact. This observation lifted my mood immediately.
After a while, I was able to talk to Jeremy Coleman, the landlord. He told me that he had already walked through the ground floor of the building and that, apart from water damage, it was largely intact. What splendid news. I had feared that some of the ancient timbers which had been such important features of the inn had been destroyed, together with the wooden bars and furniture.
Now it seemed that the future of the Blue Anchor was to be much more promising. Jeremy indicated that a restoration was possible and obviously wasted no time in getting it started.
I decided that I would start a photographic record of the rebuilding, and returned the next day to take my first picture of the damaged pub. I was astonished to see that work had already begun, with a scaffold almost complete around the exterior.
Click on the pictures for a full size version: (Dial-up users note, file sizes 200-500KB)
East Aberthaw is in the Vale of Glamorgan, South East Wales, UK, 15 miles by road to the southwest of Cardiff, between Barry and Llantwit Major.
It is about 1km south of the B4265, the brown road running east/west in the map below, map reference ST 035 666 GB.
© Crown Copyright 2004
www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/getamap
Image produced from Ordnance Survey's Get-a-map service.
Image reproduced with permission of Ordnance Survey and
Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland.
Photographic and literary contributions welcome. e-mail: cw.bus@ntlworld.com
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With thanks to those who have helped so far, and those who have kindly contacted me about this site.
SOME USEFUL LINKS
Barry and District News: www.thisisbarry.co.uk
Pete Rogers / "Swansea - Wales's Golden Coastal City!": www.welshwales.co.uk
Real Ale Tasting Society: http://www.the-rats.org
Beer Basics Newsletter: http://www.beerbasics.com/
Blaze at the New Inn, Kilmington, Devon, 28/2/04: click here
Flying Dog Brewery, Denver, CO: www.flyingdogales.com
Carpenter Oak and Woodland Co. Ltd.: http://www.cowco.biz/index.htm
Save ITV Wales campaign: www.saveitv.co.uk
Unless otherwise stated, all images © C R Ware 2004, 2005
Page edited 02/01/2005
