[1] Close to the bustling railway station of Queen Street and within walking distance of Cardiff Gaol,[2][1] the pub was south of the Newport Road in the suburb's working-class area.

[3][4] With a functional and easy-to-clean internal style, while adjoining Victorian buildings were demolished and redeveloped, twice on one side, it remained untouched, both outside and in, except for an occasional coat of paint.

A petition was raised that gathered over 5,000 signatures,[7] politicians lobbied, and celebrities including James Dean Bradfield of the Manic Street Preachers and actor Rhys Ifans actively supported the campaign and visited the premises.

The Cardiff band Future of the Left recorded the video for their single The Hope That House Built on the premises.

But Cadw declined to make the pub a listed building, due to the fact that it had been substantially rebuilt in the 1900s and that there were better surviving examples elsewhere.

Brains subsequently closed the pub as scheduled in May 2012, while the museum started an appeal for photographs, objects and stories relating to the Vulcan and its history.