Halfway Hotel Llwynhendy
Halfway Hotel, Llwenhendy
The original house at Halfway was situated midway between the tollgates at Capel Isaf and Pemberton. This gave rise to the name of the house and the surrounding area.
In 1830 the Pembertons leased Halfway House to Margaret Thomas for a period of three lives at an annual rent of £2 2s 0d. Another lease of 1845 does not make it clear whether Halfway House was an inn at this time, but it is likely that an inn was established around this date.
The 1841 census gives the occupants of Halfway as William Thomas; Margaret Thomas; Elizabeth Thomas; David Thomas; William Thomas; Mary Ann Thomas; Margaret Thomas; Ann Thomas; John Thomas and John Evan.
The 1851 census indicates the same landlord. The occupants were: Margaret Thomas; Ann Thomas; John Thomas; Margaret Thomas; Ann Morris, and two lodgers, namely Mary Samuel and Mary Morris. The two lodgers were tinplate workers’ wives residing at the Inn until they could find local accommodation. Their husbands were most likely employed by the newly established Dafen Tinplate Works that had opened in 1846. They were probably hoping to be given tenancy of one of the domestic houses that were being built by the proprietors for their workers.
It is known that the Halfway was used as a coaching inn and a local historian describes in Welsh, how he and his family moved from their home in Monmouthshire to Dafen in 1852. They travelled on the Great Western Railway from Newport to the terminus at Swansea and then by stagecoach to the white, lime-washed, thatched roofed Halfway Inn, before travelling on to Dafen.
The 1861 census confirms the change of landlord which took place in 1855. Occupants were given as: Evan Evans, landlord, and his wife Ann Evans plus thee other persons named Anne Evans and Sarah Evans.
The 1871 Census lists only two occupants of Halfway, John Evans, aged 49 and his son Thomas, aged 22, a Pickler.
The Register of Licensees for 1882 shows John Thomas, Licensee of the Halfway Tavern (sic), Thomas Evans and Others.
In 1882 John Thomas, Thomas Evans and Others, were convicted before John Simmons Tregoning and Richard Nevill, Magistrates of the town, for permitting drunkenness on the premises and were fined 40s and 9s costs.
Charles William Nevill died in 1888 and the following year his freehold properties in the Halfway area were offered for sale. The Halfway ‘Lot’ included ‘All that messuage or public house, garden and premises, known as the Halfway Inn, also ground rents well secured on the several houses erected on either side of the turnpike road between Halfway and Cefncaeau (in separate lots)’.
Around this time Margaret Griffiths of the Greyhound Hotel, 11 Market Street, Llanelli, purchased ‘all that messuage or public house, garden and premises known as the Halfway Inn’. John Thomas, whose family had had connections with the inn for more than 40 years, was still the licensee, paying an annual rent of 21s.
In October 1890 the following appeared in the Guardian newspaper:
‘Builders desirous of tendering for re-building the Half-way House about a mile from Llanelly on the Swansea Road: for Mrs M Griffiths, Greyhound Hotel, are to send their names to the architects from whom all particulars may be obtained.
J Buckley Wilson and Glendinning Moxham,
Stepney Street, Llanelly, or Castle Street, Swansea’.
The contractors for the construction of Halfway House were T P Jones and Company, Station Road, Llanelli, and the cost was £750.
The 1891 census shows that Halfway was uninhabited, so it is reasonable to assume that building works for the new hotel started about this time.
The main bar was over 35 feet long, contained superb woodwork and decorative ceilings, and was built over the old inn. It is more than probable that the stone used for the building was from the local Penceiliogi quarry.
By 1892 the new hotel was open and the licensee was David Davies.
By November 1894 a notice had appeared in the Llanelly Mercury, inviting tenders for laying out new athletic grounds at Halfway, situated near the Halfway Hotel.
The fact that Margaret Griffiths owned both the new hotel and the land for the proposed athletic grounds would suggest that these were complimentary to each other and that a certain amount of co-ordinated planning had taken place. Margaret Griffiths’ son-in-law Phillip Williams, an Accountant, was appointed Director to the newly formed Athletics Company and Secretary to the Sports Committee. Williams helped to arrange local sports events from around the time the new hotel was opened.
The new sports ground, situated about 300 to 400 yards due south of the new hotel, consisted of a grandstand and a banked cycle track with capacity for 10,000 spectators, opened in 1894. Over the years the facility held athletics meetings, cycle races, boxing matches, whippet and pony trotting races, rugby and soccer matches.
In the Trade Directory of 1897 David Davies was listed as the licensee of the Halfway Hotel.
In 1903 the Halfway Rugby Club was formed and the Halfway Hotel was their Headquarters. The following year the Halfway Quoit Club was established, and they played their home games on a piece of ground which is now the car park.
In later years the Halfway Hotel became popular for spectators who visited soccer matches and other sports held in the park on the other side of the road.
Margaret Griffiths died in 1910 and her daughter Emily Williams inherited the property and Sidney Bevan was the licensee.
After the First World War boxing became a popular spectator sport in Llanelli and local boxers used the upstairs room above the stable at the rear of the hotel as their training headquarters. The stable was used to keep horses that had travelled considerable distances in order that they could compete at the park. Boxing matches were also held in the park and in a marquee on ground adjoining the hotel.
In 1922 Llanelli Football Club moved their headquarters from the Halfway Park to Stebonheath.
From the 1920s to the mid 1930s Mr Jones was the licensee, followed by Martin Luther Phillips. The next licensee, who had kept the Tinworks Arms in Llangennech, was David Davies (no relation to the previous David Davies).
In 1942 the Halfway Hotel was leased for a term of 14 years to the Felinfoel Brewery Company at an annual rent of £100.
In 1944 Emily Williams, whose family had been associated with the property for over 50 years, died and the property was conveyed to her niece Annetta Thomas who offered the freehold for sale by auction in 1957. The purchaser of the freehold was William Hancock and Co. of Cardiff, a brewery company.
In the early 1950s Arthur Jones took over the Halfway Hotel and this was considered to be one of the more successful periods for the establishment. Following the austerity of the Second World War and its aftermath, the post war years were to be comparatively prosperous and a thriving business was built up by Mr & Mrs Jones, their son Gwyn, daughter Sally, and daughter-in-law Renee. The family catered for parties and functions and for many years hosted Llanelli Rugby Club’s post-match receptions for visiting teams, which continued until 1966 when a new clubhouse was opened.
Eurig and Cynthia Williams became tenants in 1968, followed by Cynthia and Ogwyn Harries.
In 1970 Hancock & Company, who had owned Halfway since 1957, merged with Bass Ltd in 1970 and the property was transferred to Bass.
The summer of 1982 saw Ken and Lyn Francis of Neath taking over the tenancy which continued for nearly ten years.
The next change took place in 1991 when Tony and Vicki Plucknett took over but within two years the tenancy was taken up by Mike and Val Johns.
Information supplied by Byron Davies, local Author and Historian
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Page updated Saturday May 19, 2007