Hanbury Arms Pub, Caerleon

THE Hanbury Arms 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 brewery merged with the Eastern Valleys brewery of Pontnewynydd in 1910 before being taken over by Hancock’s Brewery in 1914. Hancock’s owned the pub for most of the 20th century and commemorated it in the 1950s in a colour picture showing the Hancock’s brewers’ dray crossing the old bridge with the Hanbury Arms in the background.

In 2001 it was purchased by SA Brain.

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.

Expect to see Reverend James, Bitter and SA as well as guests.

There are seats outside to enjoy the wonderful views. Tennyson wrote: “The Usk murmurs by the windows and I sit like King Arthur at Caerleon”, today you can sit by the window with a pint of Brains and use the free WiFi to read about Arthurian legend.