Casgliadau Arlein

The Hotel de Marl was a scheme devised by local men in Grangetown, Cardiff to evade the 1881 Sunday Closing Act. Groups of men would meet in dug-out pits to share alcohol on Sundays. Payment for beer was made by throwing money onto a sheet of newspaper, as seen here, so that more kilderkins (small barrels) of beer could be bought and delivered to the drinking pits of the Hotel de Marl. The caption reads, 'Another two D will do it', referring to profits needed to buy another kilderkin. Two 'D' is two pennies in pre-decimal sterling. This photograph was taken on Sunday 28 May 1893. The Hotel de Marl was between Ferry Road and the River Taff.