The Ferry Inn, St Dogmaels
This inn is named after the ferry which used to cross the Teifi estuary from Pen-whelp, c.60 metres south of the inn. The ferry was sometimes known as the Old Castle Ferry – the remains of Cardigan’s first castle are across the water from the pub (a little upstream).
The drawing, courtesy of the National Library of Wales, was made by Henry Clark in 1881. It shows the ferry departure point at St Dogmaels, viewed from Old Castle.
From the 1870s, the ferry and the Ferry Inn were both run by David Rees. He also supplied ale and porter to the Cardigan workhouse (about 200 metres west of the inn).
He had previously been a sailor. In 1879 he volunteered for the Cardigan lifeboat, based at Poppit. He became the lifeboat’s coxswain in 1891, after seven years as second coxswain.
He had to retire from the lifeboat in 1901, aged 59, because his years at sea had left him with worsening rheumatism. He said the lifeboat had saved at least 50 lives in his time as coxswain.
On his retirement, the RNLI presented him with a silver medal for his long and gallant services in saving lives from shipwreck, particularly when a schooner named Mouse ran aground at Poppit in 1900 in what David later described as the worst sea he had ever seen in the bay. Waves were washing right over the deck, yet the lifeboat removed all hands. The ship, belonging to the Cardigan Mercantile Co, was refloated later, but its crew had to be rescued again in February 1903 from almost the same place! Seven months later, the hapless Mouse ran aground in a gale on the Pembrokeshire shore and some of its cargo of bricks had to be removed to refloat it.
When the Ferry Inn was sold in 1956, it had four bars, a lounge, a cool cellar and a telephone. Outside facilities included a club house and customer toilets.
Postcode: SA43 3LF View Location Map
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