Take a look at the picture on the outside wall of this pub. This shows there is a genuine link for Rhos with a world first in aviation.
The Cayleys were prominent local landowners who left their mark in many of the local street names, including the Cayley Promenade (with its attractive green bank).
This pub painting commemorates one of their ancestors, Sir George Cayley of Brompton by Sawley in Yorkshire, an eminent inventor and arguably the true pioneer of aviation. He discovered the key principles of aeronautics and this enabled him to design a practical flying machine 50 years before the Wright brothers.
As long ago as 1853 Sir George managed to build a machine that could carry the weight of a man. This glider was called the ‘Cayley Flyer’ (but almost certainly a different design to the picture on the pub wall) and it paved the way for the Wright brothers’ powered flight in 1903, a debt the Wright brothers fully acknowledged.
The Cayley Flyer flew for about 900 feet across Brompton Dale before crash-landing. This was the first recorded flight in history in a fixed wing aircraft, so it is fair to describe Sir George Cayley as the true inventor of the aeroplane.
Interestingly Sir George did not take the risk of actually flying the plane himself (in fairness he was 80 at the time). Instead he ordered his unfortunate coachman (John Daley) to fly it for him. Understandably John Daley was not too impressed by this great scientific breakthrough, but was more concerned about the danger he was put in as pilot. After undergoing his record breaking but alarming experiences of air travel, he proceeded to resign on the spot, reputedly with the words ‘Please, Sir George, I wish to give my notice. I was hired to drive, not to fly’ – a not unreasonable reaction!
It is surprising how little recognition is given to Sir George in Britain for his great breakthrough – he is far better known in America. However, in Rhos at least he gets some recognition in the name of this public house and in the local street names.