95 listed buildings, 1 of them Grade I

Bethania Baptist ChapelGrade II* listedParish Church of St MaryGrade II* listedBridge WarehouseGrade II listedThe Grosvenor HotelGrade II listedManchester HouseGrade II listed+12See 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.

c. 1741

c. 1795

c. 1810

1834

c. 1844

1900s

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

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.

Of the 95 entries, 41 are named by a street address; the rest are named buildings such as churches, halls and bridges.

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

The first 9 entries were listed in 1961, 1 of the 1 Grade I buildings among them. 82 came in 1992. Only 0 have been added in the last 15 years.

3 scheduled monuments

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

Cardigan BridgePost Medieval/Modern; Bridge

Cardigan CastleMedieval; Castle

Cardigan Town WallsMedieval; Town Wall

1 registered park or garden

Cardigan CastleGrade II · Pleasure garden; kitchen garden

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.

27% of homes are Victorian or older, against 16% across England and Wales. The busiest period since was 1965–72, which added 17% 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.

William Gambold

David Parry

Charles Symmons

Thomas Evans

Lawrence Hugh Jenkins

Phoebe Davies

Moelwyn Hughes

1650170017501800185019001950

Phoebe Davies1864–1912 · Welsh-born American actress (1864-1912)

Charles Symmons1749–1826 · Welsh poet

MH

Moelwyn Hughes1897–1955 · British politician (1897-1955)

WG

William Gambold1672–1728 · Welsh grammarian (1672-1728)

DP

David Parry1682–1714 · Welsh scholar (1682-1714)

TE

Thomas Evans1840–1865 · Welsh poet, died 1865

LJ

Lawrence Hugh Jenkins1857–1928 · Judge in India (1857–1928)

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

Old houses are part of Cardigan’s character: 29% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town. In all there are 95 listed buildings, 1 of them Grade I, including Cardigan Castle. Per resident, it has more listed heritage than 90% of UK towns. Only 88 of the 1,083 towns nearest its size have more Grade I buildings.

On Quay Street alone there are 10 listed buildings. A conservation area has protected part of it since 1989. Of the whole list, 56% are houses, terraces and villas. The rest is about typical: it also has 3 scheduled monuments.