The claim
A long, thatched stone inn beside St Cynwyd's church at the top of Llangynwyd, which puts 1147 in its name, though Cadw dates the building to the later 17th century. After closing in 2015, it was restored at great expense and now runs as a dining pub, guest house and wedding venue, pouring only Welsh ales, ciders and spirits.
What the records show
Cadw's listing describes a later-17th-century thatched house extended in the 18th and 19th centuries, with no medieval fabric noted. The Glamorgan-Gwent Historic Environment Record, now Heneb, agrees from its own file: record 02034m gives a 17th-century core with 18th- and 19th-century additions and a modern extension, two storeys under a thatched roof. The Royal Commission's National Monuments Record carries it as NPRN 19503, a public house of the post-medieval period. The house does have a documented past as a drinking house, and it is Georgian rather than Norman: Cadrawd's history of the parish, printed in 1887, has the Independents of Llangynwyd worshipping in the long room of the Old House Tavern for years before they built Bethesda about 1800, has them return to the same long room when the Maesteg works brought newcomers, and tells a courtship story against a landlord who cut cordwood for a living. That is the earliest record of drinking here that we have traced. The same parish history, which names the Old House four times, gives no date of 1147 and nothing medieval for the building. The inn closed in 2015 and reopened around 2019 after restoration.
| Year | What | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1147 | Claimed founding | The pub |
| 1800 | First record of a drinking house here | Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales |
What to look for inside
- Closed 2015; reopened c. 2019 after seven-figure restoration
- Serves only Welsh drinks
- Great fireplace with bread oven
Visiting
The Old House 1147 is in Llangynwyd, Wales, at Llangynwyd, Maesteg CF34 9SB. We do not list opening times, because they change; the pub’s own site is the place to check before you set out.
Sources
- www.theoldhouse1147.co.uk/
- britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/300011352-the-old-house-inn-ph-llangynwyd-middle
- www.inkl.com/news/one-of-wales-oldest-pubs-has-reopened-after-four-years-and-it-s-now-a-wedding-venue
- www.visitwales.com/things-do/food-and-drink/places-eat-and-drink/welsh-inns-pint-past
- camra.org.uk/pubs/127872
- ratings.food.gov.uk/business/1130612
- archwilio.org.uk/arch/query/page.php?watprn=GGAT02034m&dbname=ggat&tbname=core
- coflein.gov.uk/en/sites/19503
- archive.org/details/historyllangynw00evangoog
Know something we don’t?Suggest a correctionLast checked Sept 2026
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