The Bee Inn, Eglwysbach

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The Bee Inn, Eglwysbach

This is the last survivor of the many hostelries which once served Eglwysbach and the surrounding farms. It was built by local stonemason Evan Evans, who later ran the village Post Office. In 1844, the owner of the land on which it stood was the Rev H Holland Edwards, who also helped to found the village school.

The Bee was also a farm in its early years, and there’s a collection of outbuildings behind the pub. Sheep farmers used to bring fleeces here for the wool to be weighed and sold. In 1915, Welsh wool cost a shilling per pound (0.45kg).

The next building to the south, now a house called The Cottage, was the Bodnod Arms. It was part of the Bodnod estate, later renamed Bodnant. This pub also had a connection with the wool trade. The innkeeper in 1844 was wool merchant Abel Anwyl. One of his sons was an apprentice, another was a wool spinner. A servant who lived with them was a carder, who combed the wool for spinning.

In the early 20th century, the Bodnod Arms included a butcher’s shop. In 1909, there was an objection to the renewal of the pub’s alcohol licence on the grounds that the district already had one licensed bar to every 185 residents. The licence was not renewed, but Eglwysbach still had more licensed premises per head than any other local district.

In 1915, Lady Aberconway of Bodnant Hall had the Bodnod Arms combined with the building next door to form the Aberconway Institute, for public use.

Postcode: LL28 5UD     View Location Map

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