Cadw Application

Here is a summary of the recent application to Cadw - a link to the full application to follow.

Professor Dai Smith says:

“This building, fully functioning, is one of the few such remaining to signal the mix of Industry and Popular Culture that has been at the heart of modern Cardiff's identity, and particularly that working-class presence which from Butetown to Newtown has been systematically destroyed with no protection offered either its communal or architectural heritage.”

There are three sections to the Cadw application:-

1. ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE
The Vulcan was built in 1853, and its frontage and layout make a fine example of a traditional small Victorian urban pub – now a rare sight in Cardiff. The pub’s glazed tiled frontage dates from 1901, and the cast glazed terracotta urinals dating from 1914. The following have all written in support of listing The Vulcan:- The National Trust, The Victorian Society, SAVE Britain’s Heritage, Cardiff Civic Society, and Jonathan Adams (the architect of the Millennium Centre).

2. CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE
The Vulcan is home to a group of respected and acclaimed authors. Cardiff author John Williams organizes regular get-togethers for writers at The Vulcan as it offers inspiration and is an ideal place for the group to share ideas. Members of the group include:- John Williams, Rachel Trezise, Peter Finch, and Des Barry. The Vulcan has also been a long-time favourite drinking spot of Manic Street Preachers front man James Dean Bradfield, and during the 1960’s the pub was frequented by Cardiff band ‘The Hennessys’. The Vulcan has also been used as a location for a film about Howard Marks, called ‘Mr Nice’. The film will showcase The Vulcan and South Wales around the world. BAFTA winning Rhys Ifans who stars in the movie has signed the petition to save the pub.

3. HISTORICAL OR SOCIAL SIGNIFICANCE
The Vulcan is of remarkable social significance as it is the sole remaining building with any link to Newtown, the area of Cardiff colonized by Irish immigrants escaping the Great Famine in the 1840s and 1850s. The Vulcan housed Irish labourers during the construction and development of Cardiff Docks.