The Green lady in Caerphilly named after local legend

In the latest of our series, we go to Caerphilly and visit The Green Lady pub, which is a Marston-run pub named after local legend, Alice of Angouleme (Green Lady)

It is said the green lady haunts Caerphilly Castle after she died of a broken heart because her husband Gilbert De Clare killed her lover Gruffudd the Fair. Her green robs mock her husband's envy.

We spoke to general manager Mathew Gassor who took over as manager two months ago.

“I found an amazing passion for hospitality after joining the industry and working my way up from waiter through to different positions and across different brands. The next step was this fantastic opportunity that I’ve been given,” he said.

The most popular food items are the battered cod and Cowboy burger. Picture: Mathew Gassor (Image: Mathew Gassor)“I was lucky to have a passionate and great assistant manager in Simon Caddy who allowed me to start my vision while I was training.

“As a person growing up in Caerphilly, it’s always been a fantastic site and is loved by the locals. There’s lots of people I have got to know over the last month or so that share stories of the pub from old which I think is amazing.”

The award-winning pub is located on Pontygwindy Road and is a stone's throw away from Caerphilly Castle and Mr Gassor is keen to make the myth more relevant in the pub.

He added: “It is something I’ve expressed an interest in making more relevant, so looking into bringing parts of the myth to the pub with snippets of the story written on the walls and pictures.

“I am currently looking for an artist to be able to deliver my vision of this. The site is named in conjunction with the myth itself so it would be great to show this.”

Continental beers such as Birra Moretti and Cruzcampo are popular at the Green Lady. Picture: The Green Lady (Image: The Green Lady)The pub is well known for its continental lagers with Cruzcampo and Birra Moretti the most popular, along with brains SA. The most popular dish sold is their battered cod and cowboy burger.

He added: “Our continental lagers are very popular, we will sell Cruzcampo and Birra Moretti. We have Rev James and Brains SA that sell very well as well.

“The most popular dish last month was the hand-battered cod and chips.

"I love taking that to our guests because they are always blown away by the size of the hand-battered cod. This is closely followed by our cowboy burger.

Inside the Green Lady pub in Caerphilly. Picture: Mathew Gassor (Image: Mathew Gassor)“We appreciate all the support we get from our local community and would love to do more and be as big a part of it as possible.

“Just a massive thank you, and we hope they get a different feeling for the local pubs where it's more welcoming and each person feels special or part of something.”