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 B ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. 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 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 Chartism, Chartist sympathisers, under ...

of 1839. Each man headed up a column of men all supporting the movement of Chartism. After spending the night at the Welsh Oak the combined columns moved on to the Westgate Hotel, 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 {{pub-stub