listed buildings

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Tonyrerefails listed buildings

Listed building is a term we’ve all heard before, but how many of us actually understand what a listed building is, and what it means to the building?

Through parliamentary regulations, government bodiesare required to create, store and maintain records of buildings of particular importance in order to protect and conserve them. English heritage oversees the records for England. Historic Scotland oversees them for Scotland and in Wales we have Cadw (which translates into English as “keep”)

Cadw is an executive agency within the welsh Assembly Government, working from their offices in Nantgarw they carry out the regulatory statutory functions of recording our heritage, for a building to be listed it has to meet certain criteria which are:

a. Buildings which are of national interest due to their architectural design, decoration and craftsmanship. The reasons for listing in this category can be somewhat diverse, it can be rare examples of historic design, buildings of significant design or even technological innovations, which is how we see some fairly modern buildings listed.

b. Sometimes a building may not be of any interest due to its design or construction. But if it has a tie with someone of deep historic interest within Wales, or a tie to an historic event within Wales then a listing can be given to protect and preserve that tie.

c. Group value, where certain buildings within a group may be listed for their own reasons, others with a group relation can also become listed, as is the case in Tonyrefail with the entrance gates to the old grammar school which lie on the corner of Gilfach Road and Tynybryn Road. They have been grade II listed within the group value category as the school itself is grade II listed.

d. Lastly, if a building is seen to have a historic interest which can be shown to illustrate important aspects of Wales social, economic, cultural or military history then it can be listed.

Buildings can become listed in several ways, periodically Cadw carries out a national survey (our last was in 2005) to survey buildings which may be of interest and fall into one of the categories above, also building owners can apply to have a building listed, and members of the public can also apply to have a building listed. When application is made, they are pre-judged and if thought to be of enough interest are then passed to the “inspectorate of historic buildings” who are a department within Cadw they will then work in conjunction with the local authorities and the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (known as RCAHMW) to decide if a listing is deserved, and if so grant one.

If a building is seen to fall within the criteria set for listing, and is granted a listing then it falls within one of three gradings.

grade I

Which is for buildings on exceptional national interest, this grade of listing is very rare and is normally seen on buildings like castles and stately homes. Currently less than one in fifty listings are grade I.

grade II*

this grade is also rarely used and is normally for buildings of particular importance or thought to be of a higher specialist interest.

Grade II

This is the most common of all listing grades, and the one which all of Tonyrefails listed buildings fall into, it is for buildings of special interest which warrant their preservation.

The purpose of a listing a building is to protect and preserve it in its current form, to do this laws have been passed which make it an offence to carry out any work on the building without special planning permission. This is known as “listed buildings consent” this makes sure that any works carried out meet stringent guidelines which lead to the preservation and safeguarding the buildings for the future.

Many building owners see the regulatory constraints of owning a listed building as a great, and often difficult tie, but their there for a reason, we have lost so much of our historic heritage in recent years, especially in Tonyrefail that we must now safeguard what little we have left for future generations.

Thankfully opinions are slowly changing, and many owners now embrace the history of their buildings by not only seeing their role as caretakers of a historic building but by working in cooperation with Cadw and restoring their building to their former glory.

Steve kiff

Here are all eleven of Tonyrefails listed buildings:

Capel Y Ton

Record No 24274 Grade II

Old Cinema, now a disused Bingo Hall

Record No 24275 Grade II

Ty'n y Bryn Farm

Record No 24281 Grade II

Tonyrefail School

Record No 24282 Grade II

Entrance Gates & Piers at Tonyrefail School

Record No 24283 Grade II