The Blue Bell, High Street, Cardiff

The Blue Bell, High Street, Cardiff

This was the Blue Bell Hotel in the 19th century. It was renamed the Goat Major (see below) in 1995 but regained its original name in 2021.

The Blue Bell opened in 1813. It became a popular venue for meetings of sports associations, including the Cardiff & District Rugby Union, the Cardiff Wednesdays RFC and the Cardiff Old Boys Club (football).

Thomas Mallett became landlord in March 1893 and was a moving force in the founding of the Cardiff Baseball Club a month later. He cultivated the loyalty of sports clubs by giving cups for competitions, including the Mallett Silver Challenge Cup for football teams in the Cardiff district and the Mallett Challenge Cup for the Cardiff Harriers athletics club.

His tactics weren’t a complete success – he went bankrupt in 1898. Local rugby teams continued to compete for the Mallett Cup and Shield for many years. Thomas’s son Tom was a Welsh Rugby Union referee.

Electrical workers “of all classes” gathered at the Blue Bell Hotel in 1900 to form a local branch of the Electrical Trades Union.

The pub was named the Goat Major in 1995 by the SA Brain brewery after the soldier who looks after the goat mascot of the Royal Welsh infantry regiment. The first goat was given to the Royal Welch Fusiliers, one of the regiment’s predecessors, by Queen Victoria in 1844. The goat mascot of the 1st Battalion The Royal Welsh is always called Billy. The goats of the 2nd Battalion are called Taffy, and those of the 3rd Battalion are called Shenkin.

The pub closed during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and was renamed by new owner Croeso pubs in 2021.

Postcode: CF10 1PU    View Location Map

Website of the Blue Bell