"Fishguard Arms"

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Mae sôn am y ‘Fishguard Arms‘ ym mhapur newydd y ‘Carmarthen Journal’ ym 1822.

Yn ddiweddarach, yn yr 1860au daliodd William a Mary Lewis y drwydded. Bu Mary yn landlord o 1875 hyd 1895. Benjamin Lewis a gymerodd drosodd yn 1906; Thomas Williams o 1907 hyd 1920. Erbyn 1923, W F Rees oedd wrth y llyw.

Mae cyfrol ddiddorol o’r enw ‘Lines’ (ISBN 978-1-78222-727-4, Paragon, 2020) gan Ann-Marie Moreno yn adrodd hanes ei theulu yn y dafarn. Prynwyd y Fishguard Arms, a’r adeilad tri llawr drws nesaf gan ei hen thadcu a mamgu – Thomas a Margaret Williams. Fforman dan ddaear ym mhyllau glo ardal Tonyrefail, Cwm Rhondda oedd Thomas, ond un o Harrisied y Dinas oedd ei wraig. Gyda help ei merch, Bessie, agorodd Margaret siop groser o’r enw Glamorgan House nesa at y dafarn.  Bu merch arall, Mattie, y tu ôl i’r bar yn y ‘Fishguard’.

Roedd y teulu Williams yn adnabyddus iawn yn y dre – Capten Bill a Tommy, y meibion, yn nofwyr gwych ac yn forwyr da, yn hoff o adrodd straeon am wledydd pell dros beint wrth y bar. Roedd y chwech merch yn gerddorol. Roedd Mattie,  Queenie a Dolly yn canu’r piano yn wych, Mattie yn y dafarn a’r ddwy ifanca mewn cyngherddau ac ar gyfer ffilmiau yn y sinema, cyn dechrau ffilmiau ‘Talkies’.

Yn yr 1930au, datblygodd y Fishguard Arms yn rhagflaenydd i ‘fariau chwaraeon’ poblogaidd heddiw, yn yr ystyr bod y landlordiaid wedi  addurno y lle â lluniau o sêr chwaraeon y cyfnod. Priododd Mattie Williams gyda Henry Gibbon, o Bentowr, clerk gyda’r GWR. Roedd Harry wrth ei fodd yn ymweld â Chaerdydd a Llundain i wylio gornestau bocsio pwysig y dydd. Cyn hir, roedd waliau y dafarn yn llawn ffotograffau wedi’u llofnodi gan nifer o’r sêr. (Gweler yma am focswyr yr ardal ac yma am reslwyr lleol.)

Arhosodd Mrs Gibbon ymlaen hyd at yr 1960au a’r 70au gyda help ei merch, Glenda. Roedd y dafarn yn lle arbennig ar gyfer canu o gwmpas y piano. Ond, yn y pen draw, gwerthwyd siop groser Glamorgan House i Mr & Mrs Ken Grace. Hefyd pasiodd y dafarn i ddwylo newydd.

Yn fwy diweddar, yn eu tro, bu Eileen Gibson, Martin Hall a Gerald Parry yn dal y drwydded.

The Fishguard Arms is mentioned in the ‘Carmarthen Journal’ newspaper in 1822.

Later, in the 1860s William and Mary Lewis held the license. Mary was landlord from 1875 -1895. Benjamin Lewis took over in 1906; Thomas Williams from 1907 to 1920. By 1923, W F Rees was in charge.

An interesting volume called ‘Lines’ (ISBN 978-1-78222-727-4, Paragon, 2020) by Ann-Marie Moreno tells us the story of her family as landlords. The Fishguard Arms and the three storey building next door left, were bought by her great grandparents – Thomas  (see photo) and Margaret Williams. Thomas had been a foreman underground in the coal mines of the Tonyrefail area, Rhondda Valley, but his wife was a Harris from Dinas. With the help of her daughter, Bessie, Margaret opened a grocery store called Glamorgan House next to the pub. Another daughter, Mattie, ran the bar at the ‘Fishguard’.

The Williams family were very well known in the town – Captain Bill and Tommy, the sons, were great swimmers and made a career at sea. While on leave, they would regail the locals with tales of far distant lands, over a pint at the bar. The six girls were musical. Mattie, Queenie and Dolly played the piano well, Mattie in the pub and the two younger Williams girls in concerts and for films in the cinema before the advent of ‘Talkie’ films.

In the 1930s, the Fishguard Arms developed into a forerunner of today’s popular ‘sports bars’, in that the landlord decorated the place with pictures of the sports stars of the time. Mattie Williams married Henry Gibbon, from Pentower, a clerk with the GWR. Harry loved visiting Cardiff and London to watch the important boxing matches of the day. Before long, the walls of the pub were full of photographs signed by many of the stars, several having local connections. (See here for boxers and here for wrestlers.)

Mrs Gibbon stayed on into the 60s and 70s with the help of her daughter, Glenda. The pub was an excellent place for a singsong around the piano. But, eventually, Glamorgan House grocery store was sold by the Williams family to Mr & Mrs Ken Grace. The pub was also passed into new hands.

In more recent times, the license has been held, in turn, by Eileen Gibson, Martin Hall and Gerald Parry.

Below are some newspaper extracts mentioning the Fishguard Arms in days gone by / Isod gwelir toriadau o’r ‘Echo Fach’ am y dafarn slawer dydd.

“The P.S.N.C. has, we understand, extended their mail service, and the “SS Peru,” on board which is Mr D. J. Lewis, of the Fishguard Arms, as an officer, has recently made her first trip to San Francisco. “(The County Echo 25-4-1901)

“BIRTHS. Jan 30th, at the Fishguard Arms, Fishguard, the wife of Mr Alfred Williams, diver, of a daughter 1906.”

“BIRTHS. July 5th, 1907, at the Fishguard Arms, Fishguard, the wife of Mr Williams of a daughter—since dead.”

“At Home. Capt Lewis, son of Mr and Mrs I Lewis, formerly of the Fishguard Arms, is at home for a short holiday spell for the benefit of his health and we hope the change will prove beneficial. ” (The County Echo 28-5-1908)