Pictured are the trunks of The Royal Oak of Treflach that gave the name to the public house whose records go back to 1804, but the tree rings go back much further than that. The Oak is one of the most common names for a pub in the UK due to King Charles II hiding up the Boscobel Oak during the Civil War.
The Gibraltar Inn goes back to The Battle of Gibraltar of 1704 and was the only one of that name when it was closed by Geoff Eccleston 50 years ago. Geoff’s family have a long association with the village and farm the land around that so reminded our forebears who fought in that siege of limestone rock and isthmus of sand of Gibraltar that they so named it.
These two hostelries serviced the needs of the locals until the pastoral landscape became more industrial and the increased population who worked in the mines and quarries became more raucous. If you could build a shack and get smoke up the chimney overnight, you would have a home. Locally in Dummy's Wood the footprints of such dwellings can still be seen. The Dumville-Lees family of Woodhill in their wisdom built The Coffee Rooms at the end of Gibraltar lane with the chapel opposite as a distraction to create some kind of decorum for the village.
Far from the madding crowd, The Leyland Arms found at Treflach Farm, whose bucolic rustic charm harks back to the renowned hospitality of Great Grandma Jones who lived at the farm in the first half of the 20th century. To this, many a wedding feast and bespoke celebration can attest to today.
Note by Ian: We hire out a number of spaces and accomodation at Treflach Farm for private events and parties. Please note, the farm shop is an honesty shop and is open 24/7 for farm produce while the Leyland Arms is open by arrangement. Get in touch to find out more.