Open Hearth, Sebastopol

The pub’s origins go back to the late 17th century when it was a cowman’s cottage, the present site of the main bar. It later served as a wash house and earned the nickname “the clout”. The building started to take its present shape nearly 200 years ago when it was acquired by the Great Western Railway. The building was enlarged and traded as the Railway Hotel. It later passed into the ownership of Phillips Brewery of Newport. Phillips was taken over by Simonds in 1949 which in turn was swallowed up by Courage Brewery in 1960. Courage changed the name after a competition was won by a local steelworker who named it the Open Hearth. By the mid 1970's the place had become run down and was on the brink of closure when it was rescued by Glyn & Marge Morgan in January 1977. The bar was extended, a new toilet block built, and the downstairs living quarters converted into a restaurant or function room. The kitchen and function room have been further extended since under the stewardship of the late Gwyn Phillips. It has had many appearances in CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide, and has won the Gwent CAMRA Pub of the Year award in 1989, 1995, 1999.