The seafront hotel destroyed by fire after Barbarian invasion
THE Esplanade Hotel, a prominent Victorian landmark on Penarth seafront, was owned by Mrs Rosalyn Fitzgerald who arrived there in 1945.
During its history, it was requisitioned by the RAF during wartime.
The building was destroyed by fire on the afternoon of May 29, 1977, on the bank holiday weekend.
The hotel had been famous in rugby circles for hosting the Barbarians rugby team on their popular, long-discontinued Easter tour of south Wales, which always featured a match against the local Penarth team.
Police investigated the cause of the fire, but nobody was ever held responsible. The building remained derelict for a number of years before being demolished and a block of flats being built on the site.