“It’s like a ghost village now,” says Jeff Webb, peering out of his window as he does most mornings, waving at the odd passerby. “All we have left is the garage, the village hall and the post office, once they go it really is finished. I’m glad you’ve come today. Not many people come and knock on my door these days.”
Jeff, 85, who was born in the village schoolhouse in 1937 and has spent more time than anyone in Peterston-super-Ely just outside Cardiff in the Vale of Glamorgan, is discussing the impact of the loss of the two local pubs. In October the Three Horseshoes, directly opposite his home, closed. A couple of weeks later the other pub about 500 yards down the road, the Sportman’s Rest, also shut down. They sighted “escalating energy bills and overheads”.
“They have been a big part of my life, yes,” Jeff continued, showing us a picture of the Three Horseshoes in 1950 when he said it was in its pomp. “I went there on a Friday night, a Saturday night, and I would then call into the Sportsman's on a Sunday each week and I’d sometimes go in the week one evening as well. In the night now it’s so quiet around here. No-one even passes the house.”
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The former tractor driver still works on vintage tractors and drives them through the village in the summer. Locals tell stories of Jeff hollering as he passes, and describe him as the biggest character in a village not short of a few personalities. “I love it. I go out in the tractor and meet people for a chat all the time. But I won’t meet them now because they were always either coming from the pubs or going to them.”
He points to the garage about 30 yards down the village’s main street outside of the window, where a 1940s petrol pump stands outside. “I go to the garage every day to see Pete, he’s a good mate.” Peter Ockwell, known as Ocky to most in the village, is 78 and has repaired cars in Peterston since he was a teenager. Peter and Jeff speak of each other fondly and tell of their daily ritual with a smile.
“The Ockwells are the oldest family in the village,” Peter explains, taking time out of his work which he describes as “just a hobby” to talk about the importance of a pub to a village like his. “They are places for the community, of course. They are important. I find it very disappointing to see them like this. These pubs these days are not viable though are they? I feel very sorry for anyone heading into business today. I have made my money and can enjoy myself here now. It’s just a hobby. I wouldn’t like to be starting out today. I feel very sorry for people who’ve lost jobs. I can’t see them opening soon myself. It’s a great shame, it really is.”
A man passes by during our chat and shouts over, waving at Peter. “Everyone knows each other here don’t they?” I ask. “Oh, I know their blood group,” Peter jokes. “I know their bank balance. I know everything about them.”
Peter gestures to his petrol pump, proudly. He’s recently given it a renovation. “It’s lovely isn’t it? It’s nostalgia.” Locals tell of their love for Peter and how his efforts at the garage, especially his nostalgic kinks, should be preserved, just like the two village pubs - hubs for communities, characters and anecdotes which shouldn't be allowed to disappear.
While residents are saddened in the village, they are not surprised by news of the closures given the national picture. They are two of thousands of pubs across Britain which have announced closure off the back of the pandemic ahead of a bleak financial forecast. The latest monthly inflation figure was 10.7% as landlords contend with rising prices as well as staff shortages and high running costs. The conflict in Ukraine and a reluctance from the customer to spend generally has exacerbated the issue. The impact of that perfect storm on a relatively wealthy village such as Peterston shows no community is immune, and begs the question as to what our communities will look like when the storm passes.
“The pubs have been great meeting places,” Councillor Michael Morgan, 64, explains from his home in the village a stone’s throw from the Sportman’s Rest. “If you went there on a Thursday night you could guarantee it would be full. This is a thriving village. A lot of families have moved here and have decided to stay here. We have a thriving village school. So I am confident, at least in the case of the Three Horseshoes, that someone will pick it up. I hope so - because a village without a pub is very sad indeed.”
Due to concerns over how often the Sportsman’s Rest floods there are some worries replacing the outgoing landlord there could be more challenging. In 2020 landlord Huw Jones was stuck in the pub after it flooded again when the River Ely which runs through the village burst its banks.
“My earliest memory as a child was when I was four going to the Three Horseshoes with my father,” Michael remembered. “I, like the other children, had to sit in the little foyer with the peanut machine. That’s what they thought was a treat. I didn’t even like peanuts.
“Over the years we’ve had some great memories in both pubs. Each Christmas Eve it is tradition to pack out the Sportman’s Rest. Youngsters who have flown the nest come home back to their families and they gather at the pub. It will be sad not to have that this year.
“We’ve got great people living in this village. One in particular is David Fisher OBE. David is a retired cardiologist who has done so much for the community in the village. He is now in a motorised scooter and is accompanied by a carer. Every evening at 6pm David would go into the Sportsman’s Rest for two glasses of beer, and then he’d go home. Not seeing him often for many will be a great loss, and that outlet for him has gone too. For some pubs are a real lifeline.”
Gordon Williams, 67, explained how the pubs have drawn in tourists over the decades too. Buses which regularly travelled to the nearby museum in St Fagans would often stop at the Three Horseshoes, while Gavin and Stacey fans would call in at the Sportsman’s Rest - which was also the set of The Deri in Welsh soap Pobol y Cwm.
“Dave’s Coaches does trips every week here, because Ness and Dave’s marriage scene was filmed in the church (St Peter’s Church),” Gordon said. “They were supposed to get married in the church, and there is a little sign in the churchyard telling visitors that it was filmed there. The coach comes and then they go off to the pub and have a look around the village, but they’ve got nowhere to go now.”
Landlord Huw also hosted beer festivals at the Sportsman’s Rest each summer, where 15 different beers were on offer and a band played to a large crowd in the garden. “I know for a fact a couple had meals delivered to their house from the pub three times a week,” Gordon added. “And during lockdown both pubs were still delivering takeaway meals.
“I’ve been going to both of them since I was 18. We’ve run lots of sports teams from both of them - some very successful football sides. At one time the team at the Sportsman’s Rest could have taken on anyone in Cardiff and the Vale. They were great times.”
Cyril and Cynthia Williams, 91 and 89, have been married for 70 years and have lived in their house in Peterston, right beside the Three Horseshoes, for 60 years. They’ve celebrated countless wedding anniversaries at the pub, including their golden anniversary when Treorchy Male Voice Choir turned up to sing for them.
“It was lovely,” Cynthia remembered with a gleam in her eye. “The whole village was there singing. We’ve shared lots of special occasions there - lots of weddings and birthday parties. It’s been a place full of happy memories.
“I remember one of the landladies who took it on opened a pantry on the side of it, and she let us have a free meal on the day it opened. We were the first people to ever eat there. It’s always been very nice there.”
“I used the pub most days,” ex-cable jointer Cyril said. “We used to sing songs over there - all the old ones from years ago. It was great. A thriving pub, and probably the best in the Vale.”
Cynthia picks up a Christmas card from the mantlepiece and lifts it up for a picture. “This is from the old landlord and landlady. They still give us a card every year. Lovely people. It’s nice that they take the time. These places are pillars of our community.”
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