The Dolphin Inn, Llanymynech

Link to French translationThe Dolphin Inn, Llanymynech

The rear of this pub is one of the oldest buildings in Llanymynech. The date 1517 is inscribed on a beam above the back door. The main part of the existing building was constructed in the mid-19th century in front of the original coaching inn, which was eventually demolished. The original inn was itself attached to cottages.

The hostelry was once called the Hollybush Inn, a name thought to be linked to a tradition of placing beer for sale in a cask under a hollybush when fairs were held in the area.

The pub’s current name comes from the name of Sidney Godolphin (c.1651-1732), who once owned the building. He came from a landed Cornish family and held various offices, including MP for a Cornish constituency, governor of the Scilly Isles and Gibraltar, the government’s auditor for Wales and sheriff of Montgomeryshire. He inherited the Abertanat estate (in the Llanymynech area) when he married into the Tanat family.

Today the Dolphin Inn stands beside the Offa’s Dyke Path, near one of the many places where the path crosses from Wales into England. The border runs through Llanymynech, placing part of the village in Powys and part in Shropshire. The village’s name probably refers to previous settlement by monks. “Mynach” = monk. “Llan” originally denoted a walled enclosure with a church at its centre.

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Postcode: SY22 6ER    View Location Map

Website of the Dolphin Inn

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