It safeguards thousands of registered structures, monuments, and assets and plays a significant role in preserving Wales’ cultural heritage.
Now, Cadw is commemorating a significant milestone in its own past – its 40th anniversary – coming over 75 years since the first Welsh historical buildings were listed.
Meaning “protect” or “to keep” in Welsh, Cadw was established in the autumn of 1984, a joint agency of the Welsh Office and Wales Tourist Board, with the objective of preserving and showcasing the nation’s heritage to visitors.
It has taken responsibility for 10,500 listed buildings and 2,700 monuments from the Department of the Environment, and since then, an additional 20,000 items have been granted protected status.
The initial wave of protected heritage sites occurred in May 1949, comprising the primary building at Bangor University and the historic Bangor Town Hall, a former Bishop’s Palace with origins dating back to the 16th century.
Powys has the highest number of listings among all Welsh counties, with over 5,500, reflecting its rich industrial history.
The most distant one is located on a rock 16 miles off the Pembrokeshire coast, which is the Smalls lighthouse.
Below is a visual representation of the 30,100 places, which can be explored in more detail by clicking on relevant points.
In addition to over 1,000 churches and 670 chapels, there are more than 300 pubs, 94 castles, and 25 lighthouses.
There are also around a dozen theaters and cinemas, 13 animal watering stations, 11 bandstands in parks, and assorted mailboxes, as well as five cannons, the walls of Swansea prison and a hut at the old prisoner of war camp at Bridgend.
Other points of interest include an antique windmill located near a Pembrokeshire airfield, which was converted into a machine gun emplacement during World War Two.
Approximately half of the assets listed belong to individual homes.
In Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, there are 57 listings, featuring the lifeboat house and a public restroom.
The latest addition to the protected list is the railway station at Barry Island, considered “a good example of a late 19th century railway station building that has survived relatively intact”.
Gwilym Hughes, head of Cadw, said: “It’s unaltered, making it special and reflecting late-Victorian Barry, which was created as a new town at the time the station was built, and it was only about 10 years old.”
It was established in 1884 when the docks were beginning to be constructed and the settlement rapidly expanded from a small village to a town of 30,000 inhabitants within approximately 10 years.
This station embodies the narrative of this remarkable transformation of this industrial city and harbour.
Dennis Clarke resides at The Court in Cadoxton, Barry, a town that boasts a historic dovecote with a Grade I listed designation and dating back over 800 years.
“At that time, having a dovecote was a luxury only the extremely wealthy could afford,” he said.
A status symbol, it would also provide a varied array of essential items, including meat, feathers, eggs, and even gunpowder, stored within it.
There are approximately 750 nesting holes that birds have made their homes in, which would mean that around 1,500 birds, in addition to their young, likely lived within it.
Picture the noise and the odors the staff must have encountered. We no longer receive any birds here, so I don’t have to be concerned about any mess to clean up.
Mr. Dennis moved into the property nearly 10 years ago and leads guided tours, which have been approved by Cadw.
He stated that one historian described it as having more historical significance per square area than anywhere else in Barry.
It is the only surviving remnant of the original manor house and Denis said the legend holds that it was destroyed by fire set by Owain Glyndwr – the final native Prince of Wales.
It was rebuilt in the 15th century by the owners, but then fell into disrepair, and the Grade II rectory that we now live in was actually built in 1873. It’s wonderful that the dovecote has been preserved.
It is a blessing to call this place home, but with that blessing comes the duty to protect it, so that future generations can appreciate and care for it just as we do.
Forty years on from its inception, Cadw’s efforts persist.
Over fifty Grade II listings have been made since 2023, including thirteen this year.
The latest example is Christ The King Catholic Church in Builth Wells, Powys, which dates back to the 1950s.
It was constructed according to the specifications of its parish priest, Father John O’Connell, a scholar and writer of a book on church architecture, who had a particular interest in its design.
Three other churches have been included on the register in Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire, and Swansea this year.
A garage and lodging believed to be used by chauffeurs driving aristocratic tourists to Colwyn Bay, another new listing, dates back to the Victorian era.
Three milestones built by Thomas Telford on the A5 Holyhead road in Gwynedd and Conwy have been given protected status.
Under interim protection for potential listing is the 1970s modernist Aberystwyth arts centre and university library.
In 2023, notable Grade II listings were designated to St David’s Hall in Cardiff and the Plas Menai outdoor education complex in Gwynedd.
There were also listings for a rare 19th century horse trough in Stackpole, Pembrokeshire, and the Harlequin puppet theatre in Rhos-on-Sea, as well as the former residence near Montgomery of songwriter Jerry Lordan, who wrote hits for the Shadows, and whose house even featured its own cave.
Mr Hughes mentioned that Wales has one of the largest percents of historic buildings in Europe. He noted it’s remarkable that around 30% of all dwellings were built before World War One.
He added: “Over the years, we’ve included unusual items such as the apple kiosk in Mumbles, known for its quirky design, as well as a blue police telephone box in Newport and another in Tredegar. We’ve even listed a block of coal.
The shape is not just a normal lump, it’s a massive 15-tonne piece of coal. That is the largest chunk of coal that has ever been mined and reshaped that is recorded.
“Only in Wales!”
- The event will take place in September at numerous historic sites as part of a Cadw project.
