The Pilot Boat Inn, City Dulas
The original part of this building was reputedly once a smithy. By the late 19th century it had become a pub known as Efail Fawr, which means "large smithy". It stood on land belonging to Pentre Eirianell, home of the remarkable Morris brothers in the 18th century.
A little further up the hill is the hamlet of Brynrefail, which means “hill of the smithy”.
Lower down the hill from the pub is a small cottage called Efail Bach (“little smithy”). This may have been the home of a blacksmith.
The pub has its back to the road. The road used to go past the front of the pub, as seen in the photo on the right. There was a right-angle bend near the pub’s northern corner. A straighter route for the road was later engineered, taking traffic behind the property.
The bar inside is made from the prow of a wooden boat. One section of the boat was cut to form an opening section for bar staff.
About the place-name:
City Dulas is the name of the small village down the hill from the Pilot Boat Inn. Dulas means “Black stream”. Du = black. Glas = stream. Citty Dulas is written on a map dating from 1763, and may have been an ironic name for the buildings which clustered around the mills there.
With thanks to Prof Hywel Wyn Owen, of the Welsh Place-Name Society
Postcode: LL70 9EX View Location Map
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