Vulcan pub in Wales being rebuilt and they saved the Urinals, too!

 In Cardiff, Wales, an historic pub was taken down and is being rebuilt near a history
museum. As it was taken down, pieces of it were removed and saved so the pub could be rebuilt. That includes signage and even urinals from 1914, that were restored! Today's blog is a compilation of a couple of BBC News stories about the process. I think this is pretty cool and this story also includes pictures from the museum. Read on!  

(Photo: Sign from the Pub - and this is definitely worth saving!  Cr: Museum of St. Fagans/BBC)

Rebuilding an Historic Wales Pub Piece-by-Piece

The Vulcan Hotel - named after the Roman god of fire and metal - opened in Adamsdown in 1853.

 After decades of being threatened with demolition, it was taken down in 2012 to be reconstructed just a few miles away at St Fagans National Museum of History. Workers took it down brick-by-brick and are rebuilding it at St Fagans National Museum of History. A team rebuilding a pub at a museum even managed to save distinctive 1914 orange-brown urinals from the venue.

Museum staff say it seems the Vulcan's reputation as a tough, workingman's pub may not be entirely justified.

WHO DID THE PUB SERVE? Dafydd Wiliam, principal curator of historic buildings at St Fagans outlined the pub's history. "The Vulcan was first licensed to sell alcohol in 1853 and served the mainly Irish community of what was then known as Newtown, one of the 'five towns' of Cardiff, along with Crockherbtown, Butetown, Grangetown and Temperance Town," he said. "In the 1850s its customers were mainly comprised of workers from the rapidly expanding Cardiff Docks rather than steel workers, so we're not yet sure how the Vulcan got its name. We can only presume the original owner must have had some connection with heavy industry."

(Photo: The 1914 urinals. Credit: Museum of St. Fagans/BBC)

SAVED THE URINALS But the urinals, which were installed as part of a substantial refurbishment in 1914, have been the focus of just as much attention. Officials said that during their near 100 years of use they had sustained damage, with specialist ceramic conservators commissioned to work on them. "After a thorough clean, they were restored not just to museum standard but to a standard that will allow them to be used once again for their intended purpose," a spokeswoman said.

(Photo: Pub being reconstructed in 2021 at the museum of St. Fagans. Credit: Museum of St. Fagans/BBC). 

WHEN WILL IT BE REBUILT? St Fagans are hoping to replicate in the rebuild, re-using what Mr Wiliam said was the "vast majority" of the 1915 fabric.The rebuilt Vulcan is expected to serve its first customers at its new home in 2023.