The White Hart

The White Hart Thatched Inn and Brewery was built in 1371. Many interesting legends surrounding this wonderful ancient building, where HRH Prince Charles, Dylan Thomas and many other famous people have visited on their way west.

The village was famous for its Llanddarog Fair, where cakes were made at the White Hart Inn using beer from the cask, for the drovers to eat ( the beer preserved the cakes for many months ). Animals and poultry would have been traded during the fair. The poultry would then have to be walked through tar, then sand, to protect their feet, before commencing their long journey home.

The low walls surrounding the front of the building were used to rest coffins on one side of the entrance, and for the bearers to sit on the other, whilst consuming their ale, which was payment for their services.

The barns which are now the dining areas, have been used over the years for many interesting jobs. This is where the Methodist movement was founded, and at one time it was a type of MOT station for your horse and cart. The beer brewed at that time was made in a vessel on a large open fire which has now gone. Then the barn changed to the home and workshop of an undertaker.

The White Hart Inn is believed to have been built to house the work men who constructed the original church. This burnt down in 1850 and was rebuilt in 1854 with the church that stands today. The heavily carved furniture in the bar is reputed to have been made by a joiner, sacked from Winchester Cathedral because of his drinking habits and paid in beer by a previous landlord!

The name Llanddarog comes from the word "Llan" which is the celtic word for enclosure. "Darog" is the name of the holy man or celtic chief who lived at that time. The walls surrounding the church are built in a circle with no corners, so the devil has nowehere to hide.