The Station Hotel

The Station Hotel.
The Station Hotel, Abertillery was built sometime in the 1870’s on ground leased by Mrs Ann James of Abertillery.

Mrs Ann James.
In 1875 the Bedwellty Publicans Licences Files lists Mrs Ann James as owner and licensee at the Station Hotel, Abertillery.

On a land sales document of 1879 published by Messrs William Graham & Sons there were several lots of freehold ground rents for sale in the Abertillery Town area. The Station Hotel featured on the sheet and it stated the lease was granted to Mrs Ann James for a term of 999 years from 1st January 1874 containing 1,080 square yards. Another lot situate in the same place leased to Mrs Ann James for a term of 99 years from 2nd August 1872 containing 650 square yards.

At this time Mrs Ann James was resident at the Bush Inn, Abertillery, on the 3rd of September 1875 she applied to a Licensing Meeting, Division of Bedwellty, held at the Blaina Inn for a licence to sell retail wines, spirits, beer, porter, cider, perry and other intoxicating liquors to be drunk or consumed in a certain house situate on the Blaenau Gwent Road, close to the Railway Station, Abertillery. Signed by Mrs Ann James 10th August 1875. I believe this may have been an application for the licence for the Station Hotel that she had built on the land she was leasing. 

The Station Hotel first appeared as a hotel in any documentation in October 1877. It was used by auctioneers for auctions in Abertillery from this date. Prior to this they held their auctions at the Bush Inn, Abertillery.

Mrs Mary Thomas.
In 1886 Mrs Ann James was still listed as owner of the Station Hotel and Mrs Mary Thomas as licensee.

Messrs Webb Brewers of Aberbeeg.
In 1892 the Bedwellty Publicans Licences Files lists Messrs Webb Brewers of Aberbeeg as being the owners of the Station Hotel.

Mrs Mary Jane Jones.
In 1892 Mrs Mary Jane Jones was the licensee at the Station Hotel with Messrs Webb Brewers of Aberbeeg as the owners.

Messrs Webb Brewers of Aberbeeg and Mr J. Lewis of Crumlin.
In 1895 Messrs Webb Brewers of Aberbeeg and Mr J. Lewis of Crumlin were the owners of the Station Hotel, Abertillery.

Messrs Webb Brewers of Aberbeeg.
In 1903 Messrs Webb of Aberbeeg were the sole owners with Mr J. B. Jones and Mrs Mary Jane Jones being the licensees.

In the early 1900’s the Station Hotel was getting too small for purpose and it was decided to demolish the hotel and to erect a much larger building in the same place. This project was planned and completed in conjunction with the re-building of the Railway Inn in the same year.

The New Station Hotel.
In May 1902 planning for the new Station Hotel (as seen in the image left) was applied for and tenders were invited.

The tender of Mr Noel Bagley of Rutland House, Oak Street, Abertillery was accepted and the rebuilding was started. There wasn’t much publicity made about the reconstruction and no evident reporting on its completion.

The Death of Mr J. B. Jones.
On Sunday 4th of December 1904, Mr J. B. Jones sadly passed away at fifty-one years of age.

The Cricket League.
On Saturday 28th of January 1905, a meeting of officers of various cricket clubs in the district was held at the new Station Hotel, Abertillery with the intention to form a Cricket League for the western part of Monmouthshire. Mr S. Winmill presided. Present were representatives of Garn Vach, Blaina, Ebbw Vale, Abertillery, Abercarn and Blackwood Cricket teams. The league would run alongside the then current league and they would compete with similar teams for the Monmouthshire County Cup. Mr S. Winmill was elected Secretary of the league and he was given instructions to communicate with Cwmcarn, Ynysddu, Bedwas and Brynmawr to gauge their interest in joining, Crumlin stated they would consider the invitation and a meeting was planned at a later date to take things further and to elect other officers.

The Abertillery Rugby Football Club Headquarters.
The Station Hotel became the headquarters for the Abertillery R.F.C., (prior to this the team used the Bush Inn for a short while) Also the Abertillery Boccolonians R.F.C. and the Abertillery Wednesday’s R.F.C. (more than probably many other clubs but more information needed).

Mr J. Jones.
In August 1906 the licence for the Station Hotel was transferred from Mrs M. J. Jones to Mr David Bowen Evans. Mr Evans was one time an assistant master under Mr Thomas Bevan at the British Schools. He Later worked at the Penybont Colliery Offices and in 1902 he married Miss Eliza Edwards and together ran the Globe Hotel for 4 years.

On Tuesday 15th of September 1908, Mr Evans sadly passed away. I am not sure if Mrs Eliza Evans took over the licence but the next landlord who was registered was Mr Rhys Richards in 1912.

Mr Rhys Richards.
Mr Rhys Richards, hotel keeper of Neath born 1878 with his wife Mrs Katie Richards nee Jones also of Neath with family Misses Victoria Richards and Master Howell Richards were at the Station Hotel. Also residing at the premises were Mrs Elizabeth Jones (mother-in-law) and servants Mr William Jones, Mr Albert Jones and Miss Evelyn Richards.

Mr Albert Simmonds.
In 1912 Mr Albert Simmonds was licensee at the Station Hotel and Messrs Webb were still listed as the owners.

Abertillery Camera Club.
On Thursday 30th of September 1920, a Camera and Photographic Club was set up at the Station Hotel, Abertillery. The club stated they would use the hotel as their headquarters and it was proposed to acquire a room at the premises for the purpose of a dark room laboratory.

In the early 1920’s at a meeting of the Roads Bridges & General Purposes Committee at the Abertillery Council Offices, plans were produced to erect a ladies public convenience close to the Station Hotel, if the plans for such a ladies outdoor toilets were passed and the toilets were actually constructed it would have been the first of its kind at that time.

Mr James Jones.
In 1929 the Electoral Registers listed Mr James Jones and Mrs Gwendoline Jones as steward and stewardess at the Station Hotel, Abertillery.

Quoits Team.
In February 1925 the Station Hotel, Abertillery were listed as being in the Indoor Quoits League. Some of the team members were as follows – Mr G. Simmonds; Mr W. Watkins; Mr G. Harris; Mr G. Powell; Mr T. Davies; Mr T. Bennett; Mr D. Evans and Mr J. Snell:

In May 1930 Mr and Mrs James Jones left the Station Hotel. It was reported they had moved to Pembrokeshire though I was reliably informed that they stayed in Abertillery and become licensees of the Globe Hotel.

Abertillery Dog Shows.
In May 1930 a series of so-called Dog Matches or Shows were held at the Station Hotel, Abertillery, it was held in the showrooms by the Western Valleys Canine Society and was reported to be the first of its kind in the area. Prizes were given to the best dog and bitch at the show. The officials were from various parts of the district, mostly from the Pontypool area. The Judge was Mr A. White of Brynmawr. Some of the Abertillery prize winners were as follows – Mr F. C. Payne of Aberbeeg with a Cocker Spaniel called “Woodland Critic”; Mr G. Walters of Abertillery with a Smooth Fox Terrier called “Collectors Gem”; Mr R. C. Morgan of Abertillery with a Pekingese Dog called “Red Bride”; Mr Jenkin Jones of Six Bells with a Cocker Spaniel called “Wood Don”; Miss Maud Rees of Llanhilleth with an Alsatian Bitch called “Welsh Lad”: Diplomas for the best Dog was won by Mrs Jenkin Jones of Six Bells with “Woodlyn Dan”:

Masonic Lodge.
Over the years the Station Hotel was also the headquarters of the Masonic Lodge at Abertillery.

Abertillery Rugby Football Club.
In 1932 the Abertillery Wednesday Club R.F.C., reformed. A meeting held on Tuesday 23rd of August 1932 presided by Mr W. Elton decided to reform the Rugby Club. The officers who were elected were as follows – Mr Walter Elton (Chairman); Mr S. Lane of Aberbeeg (Secretary; Mr C. J. Abraham of Aberbeeg (Treasurer); Committee – Mr Griff Longhurst; Mr T. Phillips; Mr Trevor Williams; Mr William Saunders; Mr Harry Powell; Mr W. Davies; Mr T. Broomfield; Mr Thomas Simmonds of Six Bells; Mr B. Williams and Mr D. Jenkins: The club became affiliated to the Monmouthshire Junior League, their colours were white. They were awaiting permission of a permanent playing ground though were practising on the Abertillery Park Extension every Wednesday.

Abertillery Bird Show.
In October 1935 the twenty-first annual show of the British and Foreign Birds, organised by the Abertillery Caged Birds Society was held at the Station Hotel, Abertillery. The show was held in the showrooms and was a great success with entries numbering 320, an increase of more than 100 from the previous year. The officers and the winners of the various categories were from all over the country though some of the local winners were as follows – Mr R. Dean of Abertillery; Mr W. J. Lewis of Llanhilleth; Mr W. Lewis of Abertillery and Mr Joshua Parfitt of Abertillery:

Mr David J. Jenkins.
In 1939 Mr David J. Jenkins and Mrs Florence Jenkins were listed as steward and stewardess at the Station Hotel, Abertillery.

The Stand-Up.
During the 1940’s the Station Hotel was locally referred to as “The Stand Up”, it was rumoured that it was so called as during this time it was so crowded because of its location close to the Abertillery Railway Station that the landlord had to remove all the seating to accommodate more people, the customers therefore had to “stand up” while visiting the hotel.

Mr John Newis.
In the early 1940’s, Mr John (Jack) Henry Newis and Mrs Elsie M. Newis were listed as steward and stewardess at the Station Hotel, Abertillery. Also on the register were Mrs Dorothy Newis, Mrs Elizabeth Lucas, Mrs Olive Bishop and Mr Glyn Maynard.

Mrs and Mrs Newis.
In 1950 the Electoral Registers listed just Mr John Newis and Mrs Elsie Newis as being at the hotel. Mr and Mrs Newis were at the Station Hotel until 1963.

Mr Jesse Howells.
In 1963 Mr Jesse Howells and Mrs Joan Howells were listed as steward and stewardess at the Station Hotel, Abertillery.

Mr Roy Strange.
In 1967 Mr Roy Strange and Mrs Ann Strange were listed as steward and stewardess at the Station Hotel, Abertillery.

The Abertillery Rugby Club.
During the mid 1960’s the committee at the Abertillery Rugby Football Club were trying to get a club-house of their own. The committee had tried, but failed, to get permission to have a club built at the park, on the car-park. In 1967 the committee applied to use the Station Hotel as their club-house and from that date the hotel was officially known as the Abertillery Rugby Football Club.

Mr Phillip Bull.
In 1969 Mr Phillip Bull and Mrs Marion Bull were listed in the Electoral Registers as steward and stewardess at the Abertillery Rugby Football Club.

The Electoral Registers are not available to view online after 1969 so it is difficult to find out who was at the Station Hotel after that date.

The Later Years.
It ceased being the Abertillery Rugby Club in the 1990’s and severed ties with the Abertillery Rugby Football Club.

The Penndragon.
In the 1990’s the old Rugby Club was refurbished and re-opened as the Penndragon.

The Closure of the Penndragon.
The Penndragon closed as a pub in about 2014 and it was planned to have it converted into a hostel.

A Day Care Centre.
It was later used as a day care centre although left vacant after 2020.

The Auction Sales.
In December 2022 the building was sold at auction. 

The Proposed Sports Club.
It was later planned to renovate the premises and to convert the place into a sports club with facilities for snooker, pool and darts etc, though planning permission was not granted for such a project and the building has since been left unoccupied.

 

Points of Interest – Mr and Mrs Jack Newis.
Mr John Henry Newis, the steward at the Station Hotel had been an agent for the Cory Bros Collieries, Chairman and founder of the Rhondda Branch of the British Legion and had served in World War II. He was an active member of the British Boxing Board of Control and Chief Inspector of the Welsh Area. Mr Newis had been a competent boxer himself, he had served in the Royal Artillery and was a P.T. instructor in that unit and had met some famous boxing champions there including Billy Wells, Pat O’Keefe and Jimmy Wilde who were attached to the Army Gymnastic Staff at Aldershot.

Towards the end of the war, Mr Newis joined a boxing booth travelling the country with Jack Scarratt. Shortly after he fought the Plymouth Seaman Nobby Hall, he lost on points although Nobby Hall later became the featherweight champion of Great Britain. Mr Jack Newis had thirty-five years in boxing and had the pleasure of being the sparring partner to Jimmy Driscoll, known as “Peerless Jim” who was at the time preparing to fight Charles Ledoux a Frenchman the featherweight champion of the world. While at Abertillery Mr Newis had nursed several local boxers to prominence including Jack Farr of Abertillery and Ivor Gravel. At the time of this news report – The South Wales Gazette, Friday 13th of August 1948, Mr Newis had ten local boys fighting under his management.

Mrs Elsie M. Newis nee Dyke was a member of St Marks Church Choir at Llanhilleth. She was a member of the Mother Union at Abertillery and a member of the Parochial Church Council of St Michael’s Church and also active with the Red Cross and N.S.P.C.C.

The Information in regard to Mr and Mrs Lewis was taken from a report in the South Wales Gazette, Friday 13th of August 1948 and the Gwent Gazette, Thursday 9th of April 1970.