Parish Church of St Thomas · Photo: Pjposullivan · CC BY-SA 4.0

History of Rhyl · Cadw

99 listed buildings, 1 of them Grade II*

On the Cadw list, all of them stand inside Rhyl’s built-up area, 37 for every 10,000 residents. It also has 1 scheduled monument. We have photos of 6 of its listed buildings and 6 old views of the town. 18% of its homes were built before 1919. Rhyl grades B+ for history: #15 of 39 in Clwyd.

1Grade II*1scheduled monument 11on Water Street

Listed buildings

37 per 10,000 residents

Grade I

exceptional interest

Grade II*

more than special interest

Scheduled monuments

nationally important sites

Homes built before 1919

18%

typical UK town 15%

In pictures

Rhyl in 12 photos and old views

Nearly every Grade I and II* building, photographed, and the town before 1950. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.

Main Building and Footbridge, Rhyl Railway StationGrade II listed

Lookout tower in Boundry WalllGrade II listed

Town HallGrade II listed

Sussex Street Baptist ChurchGrade II listed

Royal Alexandra HospitalGrade II listed+7See all photos

Photos from Wikimedia Commons and Geograph, copied to our own server, each credited to its photographer with its licence; names open the building’s page or its official list entry.

Through time

Rhyl from 1863 to 1890

6 old photos and postcards, in date order. All public domain, made before 1950.

VictorianRhyl, north WalesPhoto: National Library of Wales · Public domain

VictorianThe New Pier, RhylPhoto: J. Newman & Co · Public domain

VictorianRhyl, North Wales. From the SeaPhoto: J. Newman & Co · Public domain

VictorianRhyl, Looking eastPhoto: Day & Son · Public domain

VictorianThe pier, Rhyl, WalesPhoto: Photochrom Print Collection · Public domain

VictorianThe sands, Rhyl, WalesPhoto: Photochrom Print Collection · Public domain

Public domain, from Wikimedia Commons, copied to our own server. Each credit opens the image’s page with its full description and history.

The map

Where Rhyl’s history is

Every Grade I and II* building, monument and historic park, over the age of each neighbourhood’s homes.

Grade II*Scheduled monument

Homes built before 1919, by neighbourhoodunder 10%10–25%25–50%50%+

3 of 17neighbourhoods have mostly pre-1919 homes; in the oldest, 69% were built before 1919.

Hover a dot for its name; tap one with a photo to open it.

99 listed buildings by grade

0 Grade I1 Grade II*98 Grade II

Cadw lists buildings of special architectural or historic interest in three grades: Grade I for buildings of exceptional interest, Grade II* for particularly important buildings of more than special interest, and Grade II for buildings of special interest. Listing protects the whole building, inside and out.

Every entry on Cadw’s register of listed buildings whose point lies inside the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary. One list entry can cover a terrace or a group of buildings. Neighbourhood dots: the population-weighted centre of each Census 2021 output area, coloured by its neighbourhood’s (LSOA’s) share of homes built before 1919 (Valuation Office Agency, March 2025).

Grade II*

The Grade II* listed building in Rhyl

Particularly important buildings of more than special interest. Every one is photographed. Each opens its own page, with the official list entry.

Church · listed 1949Parish Church of St ThomasPhoto: Pjposullivan · CC BY-SA 4.0

Historic streets

Water Street has the most listed buildings

Streets by the listed entries with an address on them. One entry can be a whole terrace, so long rows count once.

Water Street11 listed

Bath Street7 listed

Clwyd Street7 listed

Russell Road6 listed

West Parade5 listed

High Street4 listed

Of the 99 entries, 47 are named by a street address; the rest are named buildings such as churches, halls and bridges.

What’s protected

Most of Rhyl’s listed buildings are homes

Every listed building sorted by what its list name says it is.

Houses, terraces & villas53

Inns, shops & warehouses25

Churches, chapels & priories10

Public & civic buildings5

Walls, gates & bridges5

Memorials, crosses & tombs1

53 entries (54%) are houses, terraces and villas. 10 are churches, chapels and priories.

Buildings are sorted by Cadw’s broad class for each building, else by words in its name; an entry named only by its address counts as a house.

Grade II

98 Grade II listed buildings

Most listed buildings are in this grade, which covers buildings of special interest. Open any building to read its official list entry.

All 98 Grade II listed buildings, A to Z

Apollo Cinema & Bingo Club Bath Street Bath Street Bath Street Bath Street Bee and Station Hotel Bellevue Terrace Bethel Calvinistic Methodist Church Boundry Wall and Gate Piers at The Gables Christchurch United Reformed Church Church House Church of Saint John Church of the Holy Trinity Crescent Public House Cynval Villas Down-Platform Canopy, Rhyl Railway Station Ellis's Bar Ellis's Bar English Methodist Church with former Sunday School Former Manse to English Methodist Church Former Schoolroom Gate Piers and Gated to Church House Side Gate Piers, Gates and Railings at Welsh Presbyterian Church Grafton Lodge Grafton Lodge Lookout tower in Boundry Walll Main Building and Footbridge, Rhyl Railway Station Manse Marine Villa Midland Bank New Inn Pendyffryn Plas Gwyn Plas Penyddeuglawdd Plas Penyddeuglawdd Rhyd-Wen Farmhouse Rhyl No.1 Signal Box Rhyl No.2 Signal Box Rhyl Railway Station, Main Building Royal Alexandra Hospital Springfields Sussex Street Baptist Church Tan-Lan Telephone Call-box on the up platform at Rhyl Railway Station The Gables The Swan P H Town Hall Ty'n Rhyl War Memorial Welsh Presbyterian Church 12 Paradise Street 13 Crescent Road 135 high Street 137 High Street 139 High Street 14 Paradise Street 14 Water Street 141 High Street 14A Water Street 15 Crescent Road 16 Water Street 2 Bodfor Street 2 Clwyd Street 3 Clwyd Street 31 Russell Road 33 Russell Road 35 Russell Road 37 Russell Road 39 Russell Road 4 Clwyd Street 40 Bath Street 40-42 Queen Street 41 Russell Road 42 Bath Street 44 Bath Street 44-46 Queen Street 46 Bath Street 46 Water Street 47 Water Street 48 Bath Street 48 Water Street 49 Water Street 5 Clwyd Street 50 Bath Street 50 Water Street 52 Bath Street 52 Water Street 54 Water Street 56 Water Street 6 Clwyd Street 7 Clwyd Street 71 West Parade 72 West Parade 73 West Parade 74 West Parade 75 West Parade 8 Clwyd Street 90 High Street

Conservation areas

3 conservation areas cover 3% of Rhyl

Areas the council protects as a whole: demolition and changes to how buildings look need consent, and trees are protected.

Rhyl Central 198816 ha

Rhyl River Street 19922 ha

Rhyl Seabank 19921 ha

20 hain conservation areas, of 665 ha inside the built-up area.

The first, Rhyl Central, was designated in 1988; the newest, Rhyl Seabank, in 1992. 83 of the 99 listed buildings stand in one.

Cadw’s conservation areas via DataMapWales. Hectares are the part of each area inside the built-up area.

How the list grew

More than half of Rhyl’s listed buildings were added in one year, 1994

The year each building now on the list was first listed.

1994 · 82

19501960197019801990200020102020

The first 1 entry was listed in 1949. 82 came in 1994. Only 0 have been added in the last 15 years.

Monuments & landscapes

Monuments, parks and gardens

Designations that overlap the town by a tenth of their area or half a hectare.

1 scheduled monument

Nationally important archaeological sites and monuments, protected by law; work on them needs consent from the Welsh Government (Cadw).

Wreck of the City of Ottawa, Rhyl HarbourVictorian; Wreck

History Grade

Rhyl grades B+ for history

Protected heritage and the age of the town’s homes, against all UK towns.

Protected heritage, for its size and in all (102 points, 38 per 10,000 residents)More than 67% of UK towns

Homes built before 1919 (18%)More than 56% of UK towns

Two measures, each ranked against every UK town of 1,000 or more, with protected heritage counting twice as much as the age of homes. Protected heritage counts each listed building by its grade (Grade I three points, II* two, II one), each scheduled monument and battlefield two, and each registered park or garden by its grade; it is ranked both per 10,000 residents and as a total, so a village with one fine church doesn’t outrank a historic city. The second measure is the share of homes built before 1919, from the Valuation Office Agency’s council tax records. History is a character grade: it describes the town and isn’t part of the overall grade.

Born here

7 notable people born in Rhyl before 1900

Their lives on one timeline, earliest first.

Robert Jones

William Roberts

Hugh Roberts

John Love Jones

William Hughes

Dick Roberts

Jimmy Evans

18501875190019251950

Robert Jones1857–1933 · British orthopaedic surgeon (1857–1933)

Hugh Roberts1882–1969 · Association football player (1882-1969)

John Love Jones1885–1913 · Welsh footballer (1885-1913)

Dick Roberts1891– · Welsh football left back (1891-?)

Jimmy Evans1894–1975 · Welsh footballer (1894-1975)

William Roberts1863– · Welsh footballer who played as a forward in the 1880s and 1890s

William Hughes1889–1955 · Association football player (1889-1955)

Everyone born in Rhyl → Birthplaces from Wikidata; portraits from Wikimedia Commons.

Neighbours

Listed buildings in the places around Rhyl

Town	People	Listed	Grade I	History
Rhyl	26,982	99	0	B⁺
Rhuddlan	3,791	21	0	B⁻
Kinmel Bay	9,016	4	0	D
Meliden	2,002	8	0	B⁻
Prestatyn	16,678	15	0	C⁻
Dyserth	2,038	11	0	B⁻
Bodelwyddan	1,785	24	0	B⁺
St Asaph	3,483	52	1	A⁻

In brief

Rhyl in brief

Rhyl has 99 listed buildings, including Parish Church of St Thomas. Water Street alone has 11 listed buildings. Its older streets lie in 3 conservation areas, the first designated in 1988. Of the whole list, 54% are houses, terraces and villas.

Of the 7 people born here before 1900, the best known include Robert Jones (1857), Hugh Roberts (1882) and John Love Jones (1885). More than half went on the list in a single year, 1994: 82 of 99. The rest is about typical: like most towns its size, it has no Grade I building; per resident it sits near the middle of UK towns; and it also has a scheduled monument.

Questions about Rhyl’s history

How many listed buildings are there in Rhyl?

Cadw lists 99 buildings inside Rhyl’s built-up area: 0 Grade I, 1 Grade II* and 98 Grade II.

Which street in Rhyl has the most listed buildings?

Water Street (11), Bath Street (7) and Clwyd Street (7) have the most listed entries named by an address. One entry can be a whole terrace.

Are there scheduled monuments in Rhyl?

Yes, 1 scheduled monument, including Wreck of the City of Ottawa, Rhyl Harbour.

How many conservation areas are there in Rhyl?

3, covering about 20 hectares of the town. The largest are Rhyl Central and Rhyl River Street.

When were Rhyl’s buildings listed?

The first in 1949; the most, 82, in 1994.

Are there old photos of Rhyl?

Yes: 6 public-domain photos and postcards from 1863 to 1890, all on this page.

Who was born in Rhyl?

Among people born before 1900: Robert Jones (1857), Hugh Roberts (1882), John Love Jones (1885), Dick Roberts (1891) and Jimmy Evans (1894).

How old are the homes in Rhyl?

18% of homes were built before 1919 and 46% before 1940, from the Valuation Office Agency’s council tax records (March 2025).

Sources: Cadw listed buildings, scheduled monuments and registered historic parks and gardens via DataMapWales, October 2026, inside the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary · Valuation Office Agency, Council Tax: stock of properties by build period (31 March 2025) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only · Cadw conservation areas via DataMapWales (October 2026). All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.