Last week, one of the great old pubs of Cathays, The Gower, closed its doors after one final night of sunk pints. I spent many hours in this pub, watching dogs sitting on chairs next to their owners, doing crosswords, going to gigs upstairs, and it’s sad to see such a grand old building go the way of so many others.
There’s a short video you can watch about the last get-together that was held at the Gower, made by Panoptic Photography
Cardiff Before Cardiff photographer Jon Pountney went along to document the closing of the pub too. He says
“I hope these pictures will be seen as emblematic of a wider shift. Cut-throat supermarket prices, the smoking ban, and companies that feel no responsibility to their customer base have killed off many cornerstones of the community. Are libraries, swimming pools, and day centres next? Will anything that can’t turn a profit be closed?
Brains | Gower
www.sabrain.com/gower
The Gower is a huge old pub in Cathays, Cardiff. We pride ourselves on offering that true traditional pub experience.”
Amen Jon.
Here are the photos, all by Jon Pountney. A bittersweet end to this glorious old building…
We Are Cardiff 
For information, The Gower is very definitely in Cathays – not Roath! (the dividing line is the railway line running behind the pub)
LikeLike
Thanks Katie – whoops! we’ve amended!
LikeLike
A sad reflection on modern life where “social networking” in it’s real sense, i.e. going out to meet friends for a drink and a chat is becoming lost to cheap nights in with supermarket booze and Facebook….that or the idiotic craze for binge drinking….involving weird drinks in every available hue, strong in alcohol, but sweet enough to attract the very people who shouldn’t drink – those who are under age. The drink industry has much to answer for, particularly after the many years of work that CAMRA put in to secure decent beers on tap in local pubs. All we can hope for is that the wheel turns full circle and that there will be a revival in the pub trade.
LikeLike