It cares for thousands of listed buildings, monuments, and assets and helps to conserve Wales’ heritage.
Now, Cadw is commemorating its own milestone – its 40th anniversary – 75 years since the first historic structures were designated as protected in Wales.
The name “Cadw” is derived from the Welsh words for “protect” or “keep. In the autumn of 1984, Cadw was founded as a joint agency of the Welsh Office and the Wales Tourist Board to conserve and promote Wales’ cultural heritage to tourists.
It took responsibility for 10,500 listed buildings and 2,700 monuments from the Department of the Environment, and subsequently, another 20,000 properties have been protected through the listing process.
The initial batch of protected heritage assets was introduced in May 1949, encompassing the main edifice of Bangor University and Bangor Town Hall – an ancient Bishop’s Palace dating back to the 16th Century.
Powys has the greatest number of listings of any Welsh county – almost 5,500, which mirrors its strong industrial past.
The most distant one is situated 16 miles (27km) off the Pembrokeshire coast – the Smalls lighthouse.
For your reference, a map has been created that displays the 30,100 listings. Clicking on the map will provide further details on each location.
In addition to over 1,000 churches and 670 chapels, there are also more than 300 pubs, 94 castles and 25 lighthouses.
There are approximately a dozen theaters and cinemas, thirteen animal feeding troughs, eleven bandstands in parks, and various letter exchange stations, as well as five cannons, the walls of Swansea’s prison and a hut at a former prisoner of war camp in Bridgend.
Other curiosities include an old windmill located near an airfield in Pembrokeshire, that was converted into a machine gun post during World War Two.
Approximately half the listed assets comprise private residences.
There are 57 records in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, covering locations such as the lifeboat house and a public restroom.
The most recent addition to the protected list is Barry Island resort’s railway station, noted as a “good model of a late 19th Century railway station building that has survived in a relatively intact condition”.
Gwilym Hughes, head of Cadw, said: “What makes it special is that it’s unchanged, reflecting late-Victorian Barry, which was created as a new town around the time the station was built, and it was only about 10 years old at the time.”
The town was established in 1884, marking the beginning of significant development with the construction of the docks. Over a decade, the area grew rapidly from a small village to a thriving town of approximately 30,000 residents.
The platform reflects the story of this town’s remarkable industrial and port development.
Dennis Clarke resides at The Court in Cadoxton, Barry, where an 800-year-old dovecote is located, it’s a Grade I listed building and the only one of its kind in the town.
He mentioned that having a dovecote was a luxury that was reserved for the extremely wealthy individuals of his time.
It would be considered a matter of prestige but also a very significant source of numerous items, including meat, feathers, eggs, and even gunpowder would be kept within it.
There are approximately 750 nesting sites for birds, which is estimated to account for around 1,500 birds and as many juvenile birds as they produced within them.
Envision the noise and the odor the staff had to put up with. We no longer have birds here, so I don’t have to worry about any mess to clean up.
He moved into the property almost 10 years ago and offers guided tours that are endorsed by Cadw.
One historian described it as having more history per square inch than any other location in Barry.
This is the only surviving section of the original manor house and it’s said that it was destroyed in a fire by Owain Glyndwr – the last native princely ruler of Wales.
The old building was restored by its owners in the 15th century, but it later fell into disarray, and a new Grade II rectory, our current home, was built in 1873. It’s wonderful that the dovecote has managed to remain intact.
It’s an honour to reside here, but with that honour comes the duty to care for it, so that future generations who follow in our footsteps will hopefully cherish it just as much and continue to nurture it.
Forty years after its establishment, Cadw’s activities are ongoing.
Over 50 buildings have been designated as Grade II landmarks since 2023, with 13 listed in this year alone.
The most recent addition is Christ the King Catholic church in Builth Wells, Powys, dating back to the 1950s.
It was constructed according to the requirements of its parish priest, Father John O’Connell, a scholar who had written a book on church architecture and had a particular interest in its design.
Three other church structures have been included on the list this year in Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire, and Swansea.
A charming garage and residence, presumably utilized by chauffeurs escorting aristocratic travelers to Colwyn Bay, has joined the inventory, dating back to the Victorian era.
Including three milestones erected by Thomas Telford along the A5 Holyhead Road in both Gwynedd and Conwy have gained protected status.
Protected as a temporary measure for future listing is the 1970s modernist Aberystwyth arts centre and university library.
In 2023, notable Grade II listings were given to St David’s Hall in Cardiff and 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 theater in Rhos-on-Sea, along with the former home near Montgomery of songwriter Jerry Lordan, who created popular hits for The Shadows, and whose house came equipped with its own cave.
Mr. Hughes pointed out that Wales has one of the highest percentages of historic buildings in Europe, remarking that it’s “extraordinary” that roughly 30% of all residential buildings in Wales pre-date World War One.
He noted: “We’ve included some unusual entries over the years, from the apple kiosk in Mumbles, a quirky sculpture, to the blue police telephone box found in Newport and another in Tredegar, and even a piece of coal has been listed.”
Well, it’s not just a lump, it’s a 15-tonnes lump of coal. That’s the largest piece of coal that has ever been mined and sculpted to be listed.
“Only in Wales!”
