The Black Lion, New Quay

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Link to French translationThe Black Lion, New Quay

The oldest part of this building was a coaching inn, dating from the early 19th century. The building was extended as tourism in the town flourished.

In November 1835, the recently formed New Quay Harbour Company met at the Black Lion Inn to receive tenders for the building of a breakwater from heavy rubble stones. In 1846, local landowners met at the inn to appoint a surveyor to “apportion the Tithes” (a tax payable to the church).

Local residents came here to collect water from a local stream, one of the purest in the area. A stone-lined cistern held the water and channelled it into people’s buckets by a spout. The facility was colloquially known as Pistyll y Black Lion (pistyll = spout).

In 1944 and 1945, the poet Dylan Thomas lived in New Quay. He was a frequent visitor to The Black Lion. Locals believe that the town provided much of the inspiration for his radio play Under Milk Wood, as explained along the town’s Dylan Thomas Trail.

Small pieces of stale bread used to hang in the bar room. Some were decades old. This was thought to be an old symbol of hospitality, signifying that nobody would go hungry wherever there was bread hanging from the ceiling. In 1978, local baker Wyn Gibby took the idea a step further by baking a giant French loaf, about 2.6 metres (8ft 8ins) long for The Black Lion to display.

Postcode: SA45 9PT View Location Map

Website of The Black Lion

Website for information about Dylan Thomas Trail

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