IPublic · listed 1961Old CollegeOn the list as University College of Wales Old College BuildingPhoto: Ray Jones · CC BY-SA 2.0
University College of Wales Old College Building · Photo: Ray Jones · CC BY-SA 2.0A+History Grade
History of Aberystwyth · Cadw
269 listed buildings, 1 of them Grade I
On the Cadw list, all of them stand inside Aberystwyth’s built-up area, 184 for every 10,000 residents. Grade II covers 251 of Aberystwyth’s listed buildings. 41% of its homes were built before 1919. We have photos of 20 of its listed buildings and 8 old views of the town. Aberystwyth grades A+ for history: #2 of 23 in Dyfed.
Listed buildings
269
184 per 10,000 residents
Grade I
1
exceptional interest
Grade II*
17
more than special interest
Scheduled monuments
0
1 registered park or garden
Homes built before 1919
41%
typical UK town 15%
In pictures
Aberystwyth in 28 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.
Edward Davies Memorial Chemical LaboratoriesGrade II* listed
Former Assembly Rooms of Music & DramaGrade II* listed
Castle HouseGrade II listed
Old Black Lion HotelGrade II listed
Bethel Welsh Baptist ChapelGrade II listed+23See all photosPhotos 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
Aberystwyth from 1834 to 1903
An old map and 8 old photos and postcards, in date order. All public domain, made before 1950.
1834
c. 1840
19th century
1880
c. 1890
c. 1895
1900
1903
1903Public 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 Aberystwyth’s history is
Every Grade I and II* building, monument and historic park, over the age of each neighbourhood’s homes.
Grade IGrade II*Park or garden
Homes built before 1919, by neighbourhoodunder 10%10–25%25–50%50%+
4 of 11neighbourhoods have mostly pre-1919 homes; in the oldest, 89% were built before 1919.
Hover a dot for its name; tap one with a photo to open it.
269 listed buildings by grade
1 Grade I17 Grade II*251 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 I
The Grade I listed building in Aberystwyth
Buildings of exceptional interest, about 1.6% of all listed buildings. Every one is photographed. Each opens its own page, with the official list entry.
Grade II*
The 17 Grade II* listed buildings in Aberystwyth
Particularly important buildings of more than special interest. 16 are photographed.
II*Public · listed 1986Edward Davies BuildingOn the list as Edward Davies Memorial Chemical LaboratoriesPhoto: Dylan Moore · CC BY-SA 2.0
II*Public · listed 1961Old Assembly RoomsOn the list as Former Assembly Rooms of Music & DramaPhoto: Ham II · CC BY-SA 4.0
II*House · listed 1987CrugiauPhoto: Richard Law · CC BY-SA 2.0
II*Public · listed 1961National Library of WalesPhoto: Ian Capper · CC BY-SA 2.0
II*Inns & shops · listed 1987Royal Commission on Ancient & Historical Monuments in WalesPhoto: Ham II · CC BY-SA 4.0
II*House · listed 1961Staff HousePhoto: Ham II · CC BY-SA 4.0
II*House · listed 1961The RectoryPhoto: Ham II · CC BY-SA 4.0
II*House · listed 19611 Laura PlacePhoto: Ham II · CC BY-SA 4.0
II*House · listed 196111 Laura PlacePhoto: Ian Capper · CC BY-SA 2.0
House · listed 196112 Laura PlacePhoto: Ian Capper · CC BY-SA 2.0
II*House · listed 19612 Laura PlacePhoto: Ham II · CC BY-SA 4.0
II*House · listed 19613 Lauara PlacePhoto: Ham II · CC BY-SA 4.0
Show the other 5
II*House · listed 19614 Laura PlacePhoto: Ham II · CC BY-SA 4.0
II*House · listed 19615 Laura PlacePhoto: Ham II · CC BY-SA 4.0
II*House · listed 19616 Laura PlacePhoto: Ham II · CC BY-SA 4.0
II*House · listed 19618 Laura PlacePhoto: Ham II · CC BY-SA 4.0
Public · listed 2024The Great Hall, Aberystwyth University
Historic streets
Marine Terrace 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.
Marine Terrace19 listed
New Street15 listed
North Parade10 listed
Eastgate9 listed
Laura Place8 listed · 8 II*
Queens Road8 listed
Queen Street6 listed
Baker Street5 listed
Bridge Street5 listed
Windmill Court5 listed
Portland Street4 listed
Princess Street4 listed
Of the 269 entries, 114 are named by a street address; the rest are named buildings such as churches, halls and bridges.
What’s protected
Most of Aberystwyth’s listed buildings are homes
Every listed building sorted by what its list name says it is.
Houses, terraces & villas142
Inns, shops & warehouses87
Public & civic buildings22
Churches, chapels & priories10
Walls, gates & bridges5
Memorials, crosses & tombs3
142 entries (53%) 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
251 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.
The first 150 of 251 Grade II listed buildings, A to Z
A T Mays Travel AgentAbbey National Building SocietyAbergeldieBalmoralBarclays BankBay Hotel (nos 35-37consec)Belgrave HouseBelle Vue Royal HotelBethel Welsh Baptist ChapelBlaenwernBrunswick HouseBrynawelBurtonBurtons BuildingCardigan HouseCarpenter Hall (nos 38-42consec)Castle HouseCerdd Ystwyth MusicCeredigionCeredigion MuseumClarendon HotelCledwyn Main BuildingCliff Railway HouseCoach-house and stable at PlashendreColeg CorfaConnexionCounty Court Office and Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries & FoodCounty HallCounty JuniorsCourtyard ot rear of No 6b Marine TerraceCourtyard to rear of No 4 Marine TerraceCourtyard to rear of No 5a Marine TerraceCroeso Ir CabinCrugiau LodgeCrynfryn House - Unemployment Benefit OfficeDavid Evans JewellerDevaDon GelatoDudes & DamesEdleston House (Royal Commission on Ancient & Historic Monuments of Wales)Eglwys St MairEnglish Baptist ChapelFormer Bacchus Wine BarFormer Vestry to Paris Church of St Michael & All AngelsFoulkes Ingram & Co LtdG JonesGallery 72Garden wall, gates and railings at Ty'n y LonGateway BuildingsGateway BuildingsGateway Buildings No3Gateway Buildings No4GerlanGraigwenGrosvenor HouseHairdressers SalonHardwareHead Post OfficeHoly Trinity Parish ChurchHowellsIncluding Richmond HotelJasper HouseJohn Williams Hall (nos 7-12consec)Julias RestaurantKraxiKwik SaveLes JonesLimekilnLimekilnMalthouse Kiln including B & D Joinery Warehouse (formerly listed as Oasthouse only)Mandarin Chinese RestaurantMander & SonManweb ElectricityMarine Hotel (nos 49-52consec)Midland BankMilestoneMilestoneMilestone near Crugyn DimaiMonabriMorris & Bates SolicitorsNational Milk Bars RestaurantNational Westminster BankNo.13 Queens TerraceOld Black Lion HotelPadarn HallPantycelyn, Aberystwyth UniversityParish Church of St Michael and All AngelsPeacocksPencaerPenguin CaféPenylanPier & PavilionPizza Two FourPlaid CymruPlas PenglaisPlashendrePlynlymon Hall including CaerleonPolice StationPublic LibraryQueensbridge HotelR J Evans Family ButcherRailway StationRegent HouseRoberts, Humphrey & Bott, Joseph Davies & SonRock HouseRosemaryRoyal Naval Association ClubRoyale ElectronicsSalvation Army CitadelSandmarsh CottageSchoolroom to St Pauls Welsh Wesleyan Methodist ChurchSea Bank HotelSeafront Shelter, The PromenadeSeion Welsh Congregational ChapelSt Davids ClubSt.Pauls Welsh Wesleyan Methodist ChurchStatue of Edward Prince of WalesStatue of Thomas EdwardsTalbot HotelTerrace on Bath StreetThe Bell TowerThe Glengower HotelThe Hugh Owen BuildingThe Ideal BookshopThe Little ChapelThe Nags Head PHThe Old Bank HouseThe United Theological CollegeThe Welsh CellarThe WindsorTrustee Savings BankTy'n y LonUnicorn Inn PHUniversity of Aberystwyth Overseas UnitUniversity of Aberystwyth, Student Health CentreVictoria House (Forestry Commission)Victoria House The Alliance & Leicester Building SocietyWall and gate piers at Crugiau LodgeWar Memorial on Powell StreetWelsh SchoolWestminster HouseWhite Horse HotelY GraigYstwyth1 Market Street1-5 Cambridge Terrace10 Baker Street10 Eastgate10 New Street10 Queen Street
Conservation areas
1 conservation area covers 19% of Aberystwyth
Areas the council protects as a whole: demolition and changes to how buildings look need consent, and trees are protected.
Aberystwyth 198170 ha
70 hain conservation areas, of 378 ha inside the built-up area.
248 of the 269 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 Aberystwyth’s listed buildings were added in one year, 1987
The year each building now on the list was first listed.
1987 · 1981961 · 48
19501960197019801990200020102020
The first 48 entries were listed in 1961, 1 of the 1 Grade I buildings among them. 198 came in 1987. Only 7 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 registered park or garden
University of Wales, Aberystwyth: Plas Penglais, Penglais Campus and Llanbadarn Campus; The National Library of WalesGrade II* · Informal gardens and former botany garden; landscaped university campuses; landscaped library grounds
History Grade
Aberystwyth grades A+ for history
Protected heritage and the age of the town’s homes, against all UK towns.
Protected heritage, for its size and in all (290 points, 198 per 10,000 residents)More than 91% of UK towns
Homes built before 1919 (41%)More than 95% 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.
Homes by age
41% of Aberystwyth’s homes were built before 1919
Every home by when it was built, from council tax records, against England & Wales (the dark tick).
26%
Before 1900
15%
1900–18
3.5%
1919–29
5.1%
1930s
6.3%
1945–54
6.4%
1955–64
5.8%
1965–72
5.4%
1973–82
8.6%
1983–92
6.3%
1993–99
4.9%
2000–08
2.9%
2009–15
3.4%
2016–25
AberystwythEngland & Wales
26% of homes are Victorian or older, against 16% across England and Wales. The busiest period since was 1900–18, which added 15% of today’s homes.
Valuation Office Agency, council tax stock of properties by build period, 31 March 2025, for the neighbourhoods (LSOAs) that make up the town, split by where their residents live. Homes with no recorded build period (0 here) are left out; 1939–44 is not a period in the data.
Born here
15 notable people born in Aberystwyth before 1900
Their lives on one timeline, earliest first.
Isaac Jones
Edward Edwards
Mesac Thomas
William Bloomfield Douglas
David Charles Davies
Thomas McKenny Hughes
Richard Ellis
George Fossett Roberts
William Green
John Lewis
David Ivon Jones
Mary Williams
Arthur Lewis
Harry Holt
John Ainsworth-Davis
1800182518501875190019251950
John Ainsworth-Davis1895–1976 · British athlete (1895-1976)
TH
Thomas McKenny Hughes1832–1917 · British geologist (1832–1917)
Edward Edwards1816–1897 · Welsh musician (1816 -1897)
David Ivon Jones1882–1924 · Welsh communist famous for anti-apartheid activism in South Africa
David Charles Davies1826–1891 · Welsh minister (1826–1891)
WG
William Green1881–1966 · Association football player (1881-1966)
HH
Harry Holt1889–1956 · Welsh footballer (1889-1956)
William Bloomfield Douglas1822–1906 · British colonial governor (1822-1906)
Everyone born in Aberystwyth → Birthplaces from Wikidata; portraits from Wikimedia Commons.
Towns its size
Aberystwyth has the 104th most Grade I buildings of 557 towns its size
Places of 9,000–23,000 people outside London, by Grade I listed buildings.
Aberystwyth1
#31 of 557for listed buildings per resident (184 per 10,000). Ludlow, Bridport and Monmouth lead.
103 have more. The typical town its size has 0.
Neighbours
Listed buildings in the places around Aberystwyth
| Town | People | Listed | Grade I | History |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aberystwyth | 14,646 | 269 | 1 | A+ |
| Llanbadarn Fawr | 1,766 | 13 | 1 | B+ |
| Bow Street | 1,101 | 4 | 0 | C+ |
| Penrhyn-coch | 1,378 | 1 | 0 | C− |
| Borth | 1,115 | 5 | 0 | B |
| Tywyn | 3,134 | 24 | 1 | B+ |
In brief
Aberystwyth in brief
Few towns are as rich in listed heritage as Aberystwyth: per resident it has more than 91% of UK towns. All told, the list holds 269 listed buildings, 1 of them Grade I, including Old College. Its housing is old: 41% of homes date from before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town. Only 103 of the 557 towns nearest its size have more Grade I buildings.
Marine Terrace alone has 19 listed buildings. A conservation area has protected part of it since 1981. Of the whole list, 53% are houses, terraces and villas.
Questions about Aberystwyth’s history
How many listed buildings are there in Aberystwyth?
Cadw lists 269 buildings inside Aberystwyth’s built-up area: 1 Grade I, 17 Grade II* and 251 Grade II.
What are the Grade I listed buildings in Aberystwyth?
One: University College of Wales Old College Building.
Which street in Aberystwyth has the most listed buildings?
Marine Terrace (19), New Street (15) and North Parade (10) have the most listed entries named by an address. One entry can be a whole terrace.
How many conservation areas are there in Aberystwyth?
1, covering about 70 hectares of the town. The largest is Aberystwyth.
When were Aberystwyth’s buildings listed?
The first in 1961; the most, 198, in 1987.
Are there old photos of Aberystwyth?
Yes: 8 public-domain photos and postcards from 1840 to 1903, and an old map from 1834, all on this page.
Who was born in Aberystwyth?
Among people born before 1900: John Ainsworth-Davis (1895), Thomas McKenny Hughes (1832), Edward Edwards (1816), David Ivon Jones (1882) and David Charles Davies (1826).
How old are the homes in Aberystwyth?
41% of homes were built before 1919 and 50% before 1940, from the Valuation Office Agency’s council tax records (March 2025).
Listed buildings, scheduled monuments and historic parks and gardens: Cadw, © Crown copyright, via DataMapWales.
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.