The Welsh Oak is a pub located in
Pontymister
Pontymister (Welsh:''Pont-y-meistr'') is a small village in Caerphilly county borough in Wales.
Location
Pontymister is attached to its neighbour, the town of Risca.
History
Originally a farm called ''Tŷ Isaf'', the village came about as a ne ...
,
Caerphilly County Borough
Caerphilly County Borough ( cy, Bwrdeistref Sirol Caerffili) is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It is governed by Caerphilly County Borough Council.
Its main and largest town is Caerphilly. Other towns in the county borough are Bed ...
,
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
. In recent years, due to a decline in trade, the pub has ceased trading.
This was the final meeting place of
John Frost,
Zephaniah Williams
Zephaniah Williams (1795 – 8 May 1874) was a Welsh coal miner and Chartist campaigner, who was one of the leaders of the Newport Rising of 1839. Found guilty of high treason, he was condemned to death, but his sentence was commuted to l ...
and
William Jones, all members of the
Chartist movement
Chartism was a working-class movement for political reform in the United Kingdom that erupted from 1838 to 1857 and was strongest in 1839, 1842 and 1848. It took its name from the People's Charter of 1838 and was a national protest movement, w ...
in
South Wales
South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...
in the 1830s prior to and during the
Newport Rising
The Newport Rising was the last large-scale armed rising in Wales, by Chartists whose demands included democracy and the right to vote with a secret ballot. On Monday 4 November 1839, approximately 4,000 Chartist sympathisers, under the lead ...
of 1839.
Each man headed up a column of men all supporting the movement of
Chartism
Chartism was a working-class movement for political reform in the United Kingdom that erupted from 1838 to 1857 and was strongest in 1839, 1842 and 1848. It took its name from the People's Charter of 1838 and was a national protest movement, w ...
. After spending the night at the Welsh Oak the combined columns moved on to the
Westgate Hotel
The Westgate Hotel, Commercial Street, Newport, Wales is a hotel building dating from the 19th century. On 4 November 1839 the hotel saw the major scenes of the Newport Rising, when 3,000 Chartists, some of them armed, led by John Frost marche ...
,
Newport, where they were met by soldiers and a battle ensued.
The building was damaged by a fire on 7 August 2020 but is now being restored and intended for conversion to a private dwelling.
References
Buildings and structures in Caerphilly County Borough
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