Now known as the Salvage Bar and Monkstone Restaurant and having recently undergone refurbishment, Cole’s Corner is believed to be one of the oldest buildings in Saundersfoot, over 250 years old. Every known print, painting or sketch of that part of the village, however old, shows the building.

The first known occupier was Thomas Roblin, who held a food-related business of some sort and was there until around 1923.

In those days the shop had two mahogany counters, one of which had a pair of notches for accurately measuring an ounce of twist tobacco.

The other counter had a small fault in the wood grain, but the indentation happened to be exactly opposite the till drawer. It gave rise to a local piece of folklore that Mr. Roblin had caused it himself by always touching the same spot whenever he spread out the money tendered and flicked it into the till as he counted!

And there was also a very ancient coffee mill operated by turning a handle; a task typically allocated to any youngster who lacked the wisdom not to play around in the shop.

Salisbury Waters took over for the next 10 years, then in 1933 the business became known as Cole’s Corner after its new owner, W. J. Cole.

It was a grocery and provision merchant when Mr. Cole’s daughter and son-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Allen, took over the running of the business. In 1957 the grocery part was relocated across the road and the original shop became Cole’s Corner Café. This remained until 1975 when the lower storey was leased to Mr. and Mrs. Phillips and it became a restaurant called ‘The Aquarius’.

During other alterations to the building, it was found that the oldest part of the building is supported on a foundation of barrels filled with rubble.

The kitchens were originally a stable and cart store with cobble stones. The Allens also found an endless pulley hoist for hauling flour sacks upstairs.

At one time a Mr. Morris, of Kilgetty, bought the lease on a cart shed at the side of the building and in due course rebuilt the front, turning it into a butcher’s shop.

A salt hatch led from the cart shed into the lower and upper levels of the rest of the house. This had been used for sending bars of pickling salt upstairs and butter into the cool cellar. It had also been used by Mr. Morris for moving a cart into the upper storey. Some time after his major alterations, he realised it was now impossible to remove the cart.

Years later, during the construction of the flats, the cart, by then riddled with woodworm, was smashed up. But while still imprisoned it provided a bit of wartime fun for two mischievous officers of the School of Artillery in Manorbier.

The two officers, having heard about the trapped cart, arranged with the shop owners to play a joke on a fellow officer. Making sure this officer was well under the influence of alcohol, they took him to the shop and persuaded him to meet the owners and negotiate to buy the cart. After a little argument, a price of £5 was agreed - removal to take place the following day.

You can imagine the scene the next day as the unfortunate officer turned up with a platoon of men to remove the cart from the upper storey and discovered that it was impossible, short of a major demolition job!

Thank you to Gerald Rogers for the photograph and information.