Confusion as A landlord accused of ‘destroying history’ by renaming a famous Cardiff pub that is more than 200 years old has just restored its original name which was changed only 25 years ago
Originally the pub opened as Blue Bell in 1813, it only became the Goat Major in 1995
Previously owned by Brains selling out in December 2020 due to covid-19 restrictions they did not plan to reopen it as lock down eased but Croeso pubs bought it and returned it to its original and 208-year-old name.
Some social media keyboard warriors have accused Croeso of a “criminal” name change and that they were “destroying Cardiff’s history”, before it was pointed out the Blue Bell was actually its original, historical name.
Mr Nick Newman, who has worked in hospitality in the city for 41 years and will manage the pub, told BBC Wales it was a “storm in a Twitter cup” and had been resolved quickly and politely.
The Blue Bell was renamed in 1995 to The Goat Major in connection with the Welsh infantry regiment, The Royal Welsh, whose mascot which is a goat and was sponsored by Brains brewery.
Mr Newman, continued: ‘changing the name was a difficult decision but ultimately seemed like the right thing to do – because the military connection would go down in history anyway whereas the Blue Bell name may not.’
“We sat down and said, ‘Do we keep it as the Goat Major or turn it back to Blue Bell?
“I found this out from veterans but Brains called it Goat Major because there used to have military tattoos in the castle, but they no longer take place, so that took away part of the reason for keeping the name.
“That’s already got its place in history, so we thought it was probably right to take it back to Blue Bell.”
Mr Newman, 61, who was also responsible for bringing the much loved Philharmonic pub back into use, which he said had become “derelict and dilapidated”. The company also has Brew House and Retro.
“We like to take bits of Cardiff’s heritage and restore them to former glory,” he said.
“We felt our main focus with the pandemic was keeping the business going”