Hanbury Arms (Caerleon)

It's been a quiet day for me. After doing a scheduled call at 7.30pm, I checked the tide tables and saw that high tide was about 8.30pm,  and headed to Caerleon River bridge.

The blip picture is of famous local landmark, The Hanbury Arms. It is an unmistakable white-washed building overlooking the River Usk. It dates from 1565 and there are still Tudor windows on the top floor. The building is connected to a medieval round tower on the south side thought to date from the 13th century and was part of the outer bailey defences of the nearby castle.

The pub was originally called Ty Glyndwr and was owned by the Morgan family, the Hanbury family became the owners in 1720 and there was a tram road from their ironworks in Pontypool to their riverside wharf outside the building. It became a pub around 1750 and adopted the family’s coat of arms. In the 19th and early 20th centuries it brewed its own beer.

The most famous visitor was Alfred, Lord Tennyson, who spent six weeks there in 1856 writing “Idylls of the King.” Today there is a commemorative plaque by the dormer window overlooking the river. This large, riverside room is called the Magistrates Room as it was used as a court in previous centuries with the medieval round tower being used as a lock-up for the prisoners. Even though the Hanbury has undergone extensive renovations, the thick stone walls and old stone fireplaces remain.

It is also at the place on the river that was formely the Roman crossing place of the river.