The Black Boy Inn Caernarfon

The Tafarn y Black Boy, or Black Boy Inn is one of Caernarfon's most famous landmarks. Located near to the northern town wall, on Northgate Street, the inn was built around 1522, making it one of the oldest inns in Wales.

The inn has had several names over the course of its life, but there are three theories concerning it's current unusual name. The first is that the Inn was named after an African boy who was brought into Caernarfon on a ship. The second relates to a navigational buoy that existed in Caernarfon harbour. Both of these theories are referenced in the Inn's distinctive logo below.

The last theory refers to a nickname given to Charles the Second by his mother, around the period that Royalists used the inn as a secret rendezvous point. 


There are more colourful explanations for the Welsh name of the inn's location; Northgate Street is also known as Stryd Pedwar a Chwech. This literally translates as Four and Six Street - or four shillings and sixpence. Allegedly this was the going rate for rental of a room at the inn, a bottle of gin, and the services of a lady of easy virtue!

Fortunately this part of town has moved considerably up market since then. The Black Boy has a good reputation as one of the best and most atmospheric places to eat in Caernarfon.