Memories of the Nelson

Last updated: 26 October 2008

Philip Williams lived with his grandparents in Hay-on-Wye during the late 1950s and early sixties. He's sent us four old photos of the Nelson public house taken when his grandfather Tom was landlord. The fifth photo, of his parents' wedding in 1935, was sent in by John Michael Smith in October 2008:

Tom Williams standing on bridge over Dulas Brook with the former station in the background. 1  2  3  4  5  Philip Williams: "Tom Williams my grandfather was the Police Sergeant in Cusop until he retired from the then 'Herefordshire Police Force'. On retirement, he took over as landlord of the 'Nelson Inn' opposite the Hay-on-Wye railway station. I cannot remember the exact dates but I think it was the early to mid 50s and on into the early to mid 60s. Incidentally, the middle of the bridge my Grandfather is standing on was (and I think still is) the English/Welsh border."

your comments

Alastair Jones,Glasbury
My memory of the Nelson dates from August 1962.I was staying the weekend with my father in Ffynnon Gynydd, about 5 miles from Hay. I was an extremely impecunious 19-year-old articled clerk and visited the Nelson for the one and only time in my life on the evening of Saturday 11th August. I was alone, with very little money, but I did(and still do) have a talent for the piano.After a pint of scumpy I asked if it would be in order for me to play and was told that I could. From that moment I did not have to buy a drink(I had about 6 pints of scrumpy) and I was even given a free supper of liver and onions. The following day I returned to Birmingham, where I lived, and, emboldened by the scrumpy, asked Linda to go out with me.She said yes and we are still together after 44 years. We love the area so much that we came to live in Glasbury in 1997.
Tue Sep 12 09:33:01 2006

Glynis Jones, Sydney, Australia
Hi there Phil, Great to see you posting up some photos of the Nelson and of Tom Williams. He, of course, was my Grandad too and I have great memories of visiting the Nelson as a child with the rest of the family. We had a wonderful Christmas lunch in the bar area one year - the tables seemed to go on forever by the time all the family was seated. We all ended up playing darts and quoits well into the evening. Another thing I remember was the walled garden at the side of the Nelson. The number of hours I must have spent on top of that wall taking down car numbers!! Then of course, when it was time to go home to Derby where we lived at the time, there was a half a crown from Nana and Grandad. A fortune to me in those days..................
Tue Apr 18 11:13:50 2006

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Bwtsiwr, Beiro a Brenhines Beth ddigwyddodd pan gyfarfodd Wil Lloyd Williams â'r Brenhines?