It's been happening for centuries, the conversion of pub to home. Marketed from today as a residential rather than commercial property is the Old Cross Keys, Llanfwrog. The proprietors have since April 2013 tried in vain to sell as an on-going concern but have seen just one viewing in that time. They applied to the council for a change of use and that was granted last month.
The owners blame Wetherspoon's for hitting the budget end of their market and the Myddleton Grill for the affect on the à la carte menu. In truth, though, things are more complicated. Both Wetherspoon's and the Myddleton are factors but the Old Cross Keys is also just that little too far from town. Parking isn't easy. There's no appreciable local residents and those relatively nearby do not have a great walking route.
And, of course, the entire hospitality trade in Rhuthun/Ruthin's volatile and is going through quite an adjustment, a structural change. How fit to survive is the Old Cross Keys? In short, not very. The money's not there to invest and some of its public areas are careworn.
In the last three years, we've witnessed the recent closure of:
The Old Cross Keys is said to date back to the 16th century. In his book Ruthin Pubs, Geraint Owen (Owain) states that the cross keys themselves were the heraldic arms of the bishop of Llanelwy/St Asaph. Indeed, it would appear that there were once strong ties between the inn and its church across the street. Now, of course, since 2010 the ecclesiastic parish of Llanfwrog has also effectively disappeared, as without its own rector it falls for the first time under the governance of the Warden of Rhuthun at St Peter's itself.
The pub lies at the heart of the Llanfwrog conservation area. It's a massive building and certainly represents good value at £325,000—the price of a large four-bed detached in town, for example. The price does reflect two important downsides: the first is that you'll be living beside a main road with no frontal definable space, right on a corner where vehicles break, down gear and where larger ones struggle. And, secondly, there will be conversion costs to take out the bar and its accouterments and convert the commercial kitchen. In other words, a lot of work, time... and money.
In the last three years, we've witnessed the recent closure of:
- The Wynnstay
- The Anchor
- The Clwyd Gate
- The Picture House
- The Myddleton Arms (as a pub)
- The Morning Star (as a pub)
- The Old Cross Keys (soon)
- The welcome refurbishment of The Feathers (2014)
- The change of ownership to a community pub at the struggling Glan Llyn, Clawddnewydd (2014)
- Food being served at The Farmers (2014)
- The opening of the aforesaid Myddleton Grill (2012)
- The return of the Tŷ Mawr, Gwyddewlwern after some eight years (2014)
- The conversion of Annie's to the Seasonal Kitchen to include evening dining (2014)
- The reopening of the Star as the Star Bistro with a main focus on dining, not drinking (late 2014) (under its fourth management since it re-opened in 2010!)
The pub lies at the heart of the Llanfwrog conservation area. It's a massive building and certainly represents good value at £325,000—the price of a large four-bed detached in town, for example. The price does reflect two important downsides: the first is that you'll be living beside a main road with no frontal definable space, right on a corner where vehicles break, down gear and where larger ones struggle. And, secondly, there will be conversion costs to take out the bar and its accouterments and convert the commercial kitchen. In other words, a lot of work, time... and money.