Colliers Arms, Pwll
Colliers Arms, Pwll
The area where Mulberry Cottage (later the Colliers Arms) was built was once a parcel of land forming part of Penllech Farm. An old document dated 3rd April 1866 and made between John Stepney Cowell Stepney, Lieutenant Colonel of the Coldstream Guards and Mr Benjamin Thomas refers to "a lease of building land part of Penllech Farm in the Parish of Pembrey." The area of land subject to the lease was "one rood" and is shown on a map, which has a scale of 2 chains to an inch.
The UK census of 1881 shows that William and Margaret Hughes were living at the Colliers’ Arms.
On 9th September 1886 an Indenture transferred the land contained in the lease of 1866 from Mr Benjamin Thomas to Mr & Mrs Benjamin Emmanuel. Mulberry Cottage was not built at this time. In 1924 the Colliers Arms was situated at the end of a row of terraced houses known as Colliers Row and Mr Griff Phillips was the tenant, who, for some reason or other, wanted to leave the business. Griff either asked Mr & Mrs Emanuel, or they asked him, if they could rent the property. Benjamin Emanuel had married Catherine Gwenter and they lived in Mulberry House (Mulberry Cottage) which was closer to Llanelli. As a result of an agreement between the three parties, they swapped premises. Griff Phillips moved into Mulberry House and paid rent to Benjamin and Catherine Emmanuel who then took up tenancy of the Colliers Arms.
Twelve years after moving into the Colliers Arms, Benjamin Emanuel died and his wife Catherine continued to run the pub with the help of her daughter Maggie and her son-in-law Ossie James. In 1940 Ossie died at the age of 45.
During the Second World War an old mine tunnel which ran between Mulberry House and a brickworks was used as a safe haven for the villagers during air raids. On 18th December 1945, Catherine Emmanuel died and her estate was left to her two daughters, Maggie and Lil, who both ran the Colliers until 1948.
The ‘Old’ Colliers Arms was owned by Buckley’s Brewery but it became the subject of a compulsory purchase order when the Borough Council planned to widen the road. When the Colliers Arms was compulsorily purchased by the Borough Council the Brewery decided to let the licence lapse. Once the Council purchased the property it was demolished to enable the road-widening scheme to proceed. Maggie hit upon the idea of transferring the licence to Mulberry House which had previously been owned by her parents and rented out to Griff Phillips. Maggie had remarried and her second husband was Dick Richards.
Maggie & Dick ran the Colliers (now in Mulberry House) until Maggie, who was affectionately known as ‘Maggie Colliers’, died in 1980 having been associated with the Colliers Arms for 60 years. If Maggie was not serving her customers she could be found in her garden that she loved so much.
There is an old chair from the Colliers Arms with a little brass label bearing the inscription "Dick Richards". Dick always sat in this chair whether he was serving or in later life when he was a customer. It is said that if anyone else dared to sit in that chair nothing would be right. Even if a perfect stranger happened to sit in the chair Dick would scowl and sigh until the chair was vacated.
For 11 years after "Maggie Colliers" died her eldest daughter Estelle and her son-in-law Gwynne Clement ran the Colliers and built the bungalow known as Mulberry Cottage at the rear of Mulberry House. Estelle and Gwynne continued to run the Colliers Arms until 1990 when Gwynne’s ill health forced him to retire and the pub was sold.
Colliers Arms in 1991
© W & B Rees & ARTdesigns 2004/2006
Page updated Tuesday May 15, 2007