IPublic · listed 2001Harlech CastlePhoto: Llywelyn2000 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Harlech Castle · Photo: Llywelyn2000 · CC BY-SA 4.0AHistory Grade
History of Harlech · Cadw
Harlech is home to a World Heritage Site: Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd
34% of Harlech’s homes were built before 1919. Cadw lists 22 buildings inside Harlech’s built-up area, 174 for every 10,000 residents. It also has 1 scheduled monument. Harlech grades A for history.
Listed buildings
22
174 per 10,000 residents
Grade I
1
exceptional interest
Grade II*
1
more than special interest
Scheduled monuments
1
nationally important sites
Homes built before 1919
34%
typical UK town 15%
In pictures
Landmarks of Harlech
Nearly every Grade I and II* building, photographed. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
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.
The map
Where Harlech’s history is
Every Grade I and II* building, monument and historic park.
Grade IGrade II*Scheduled monument
Hover a dot for its name; tap one with a photo to open it.
22 listed buildings by grade
1 Grade I1 Grade II*20 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.
Grade I
The Grade I listed building in Harlech
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 Grade II* listed building in Harlech
Particularly important buildings of more than special interest. Every one is photographed.
II*Public · listed 2001Coleg HarlechOn the list as Coleg Harlech including Terrace Revetment Walls to the WPhoto: Peter Humphreys · CC BY-SA 2.0
What’s protected
Most of Harlech’s listed buildings are homes
Every listed building sorted by what its list name says it is.
Houses, terraces & villas13
Churches, chapels & priories3
Inns, shops & warehouses3
Public & civic buildings2
Street furniture1
13 entries (59%) are houses, terraces and villas. 3 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
20 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 20 Grade II listed buildings, A to Z
Barn S of Ael-y-GlynBier House at Capel RehobothBryn TirionCae BesiCapel RehobothCow House S of Ael-y-GlynCrown LodgeFarm-buildings at Groes LasGateway, Forecourt and Screen Walls at Coleg HarlechGroes LasGweithdy SaerHarlech Pottery including Forecourt Walls and RailingsOut-kitchen and pigsty at Groes LasParish Church of St TanwgPencerrig PellafSmall animal shed at Groes LasSparThe PlasTy'r FelinY Wern
Conservation areas
1 conservation area covers 18% of Harlech
Areas the council protects as a whole: demolition and changes to how buildings look need consent, and trees are protected.
Harlech 197919 ha
19 hain conservation areas, of 106 ha inside the built-up area.
11 of the 22 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 Harlech’s listed buildings were added in one year, 2001
The year each building now on the list was first listed.
2001 · 18
19501960197019801990200020102020
The first 18 entries were listed in 2001, 1 of the 1 Grade I buildings among them. 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.
World Heritage
| Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in GwyneddUNESCO World Heritage Site, partly or wholly inside the town |
1 scheduled monument
Nationally important archaeological sites and monuments, protected by law; work on them needs consent from the Welsh Government (Cadw).
Castell HarlechMedieval; Castle
History Grade
Harlech 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 (27 points, 214 per 10,000 residents)More than 73% of UK towns
Homes built before 1919 (34%)More than 89% 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
34% of Harlech’s homes were built before 1919
Every home by when it was built, from council tax records, against England & Wales (the dark tick).
32%
Before 1900
3.3%
1900–18
0.8%
1919–29
4.9%
1930s
7.3%
1945–54
4.9%
1955–64
5.7%
1965–72
18%
1973–82
1.6%
1983–92
8.1%
1993–99
8.1%
2000–08
4.1%
2009–15
1.6%
2016–25
HarlechEngland & Wales
32% of homes are Victorian or older, against 16% across England and Wales. The busiest period since was 1973–82, which added 18% 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.
Towns its size
Harlech has the 87th most Grade I buildings of 1,904 towns its size
Places of 1,000–2,000 people outside London, by Grade I listed buildings.
Harlech1
#540 of 1,904for listed buildings per resident (174 per 10,000). Aberaeron, Beaumaris and Burford lead.
86 have more. The typical town its size has 0.
Neighbours
Listed buildings in the places around Harlech
| Town | People | Listed | Grade I | History |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harlech | 1,261 | 22 | 1 | A |
| Porthmadog | 2,579 | 90 | 0 | A+ |
| Penrhyndeudraeth | 1,463 | 12 | 0 | B+ |
| Criccieth | 1,737 | 29 | 0 | A |
| Barmouth | 1,986 | 53 | 1 | A+ |
| Blaenau Ffestiniog | 3,449 | 29 | 0 | A |
In brief
Harlech in brief
Harlech holds part of a World Heritage Site, Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd. In all there are 22 listed buildings, 1 of them Grade I. Its housing is old: 34% of homes date from before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town. Only 86 of the 1,904 towns nearest its size have more Grade I buildings.
A conservation area has protected part of it since 1979. Of the whole list, 59% are houses, terraces and villas. More than half went on the list in a single year, 2001: 18 of 22. Otherwise the figures are ordinary: per resident it sits near the middle of UK towns; and it also has a scheduled monument.
Questions about Harlech’s history
How many listed buildings are there in Harlech?
Cadw lists 22 buildings inside Harlech’s built-up area: 1 Grade I, 1 Grade II* and 20 Grade II.
What are the Grade I listed buildings in Harlech?
One: Harlech Castle.
Are there scheduled monuments in Harlech?
Yes, 1 scheduled monument, including Castell Harlech.
Is Harlech a World Heritage Site?
Harlech is home to part or all of Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd, inscribed by UNESCO.
How many conservation areas are there in Harlech?
1, covering about 19 hectares of the town. The largest is Harlech.
When were Harlech’s buildings listed?
The first in 2001; the most, 18, in 2001.
How old are the homes in Harlech?
34% of homes were built before 1919 and 40% 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.