IChurch · listed 1951St Cybi's ChurchPhoto: Eric Jones · CC BY-SA 2.0
George IV Arch · Photo: Velela · Public domainA−History Grade
History of Holyhead · Cadw
53 listed buildings, 2 of them Grade I
On the Cadw list, all of them stand inside Holyhead’s built-up area, 45 for every 10,000 residents. It also has 1 scheduled monument. 32% of its homes were built before 1919. We have photos of 8 of its listed buildings and 8 old views of the town. Holyhead grades A− for history: #8 of 13 in Gwynedd.
Listed buildings
53
45 per 10,000 residents
Grade I
2
exceptional interest
Grade II*
3
more than special interest
Scheduled monuments
1
nationally important sites
Homes built before 1919
32%
typical UK town 15%
In pictures
Holyhead in 16 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.
St Cybi's ChurchGrade I listed
Roman Wall Surrounding St Cybi's ChurchyardScheduled monument
Market HallGrade II listed
Lighthouse on Admiralty PierGrade II listed
Tabernacl ChapelGrade II listed+11See 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
Holyhead from 1750 to 1900
8 old photos and postcards, in date order. All public domain, made before 1950.
18th century
c. 1810
c. 1874
c. 1890
c. 1890
1890
1890
c. 1900Public 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 Holyhead’s history is
Every Grade I and II* building, monument and historic park, over the age of each neighbourhood’s homes.
Grade IGrade II*Scheduled monument
Homes built before 1919, by neighbourhoodunder 10%10–25%25–50%50%+
2 of 8neighbourhoods have mostly pre-1919 homes; in the oldest, 67% were built before 1919.
Hover a dot for its name; tap one with a photo to open it.
53 listed buildings by grade
2 Grade I3 Grade II*48 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 2 Grade I listed buildings in Holyhead
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.
IChurch · listed 1951Caer GybiOn the list as Walls of upper churchyardPhoto: Nigel Mykura · CC BY-SA 2.0
Grade II*
The 3 Grade II* listed buildings in Holyhead
Particularly important buildings of more than special interest. Every one is photographed.
II*Memorials · listed 1993George IV Arch, Salt IslandOn the list as George IV ArchPhoto: Velela · Public domain
II*Public · listed 1993Harbour Office, Salt IslandOn the list as Harbour OfficePhoto: SteveCymro · CC BY-SA 4.0
II*Inns & shops · listed 1952Melin yr OgofOn the list as Kingsland WindmillPhoto: Stephen Elwyn RODDICK · CC BY-SA 2.0
What’s protected
The largest group of Holyhead’s listed buildings is homes
Every listed building sorted by what its list name says it is.
Houses, terraces & villas18
Inns, shops & warehouses15
Churches, chapels & priories8
Public & civic buildings5
Walls, gates & bridges3
Memorials, crosses & tombs3
Street furniture1
18 entries (34%) are houses, terraces and villas. 8 are churches, chapels and priories, including 2 of the 2 Grade I buildings.
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
48 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 48 Grade II listed buildings, A to Z
Admirlaty Pier (including Sea Wall between Salt Island Bridgea and George IV Arch)Boundary Wall to Cybi Building, Holyhead High SchoolCaernarfon Castle P HCapel y BeddCenotaphClock Turret in Station ApproachCottage on corner of Pentre Pella (including Foregardem Wall)Customs HouseCybi Building, Holyhead High SchoolEbenezer ChapelFitting, Boiler and Smithy ShopsHyfrydle Chapel (including Forecourt Gates and Railings)Lighthouse on Admiralty PierLower Churchyard Walls and GatewayMarket HallOffice and Stores BuildingPillbox near Skinner's MonumentPlas AlltranSkinner MonumentSouth PierStable Block to Plas AlltranStanley CottagesStanley CottagesStanley CottagesStanley CottagesStanley CottagesStanley CottagesStanley HouseStore, Old Boiler Shop & Sawmill buildings at Marine YardTabernacl ChapelTanalltran CottagesTanalltran CottagesTelford Milestone (1)The Captains TableTrain Shed at Holyhead StationTrinity House OfficeTrinity Yard Large WorkshopTrinity Yard Small WorkshopTy'n ParcUcheldre Centre (Former Bon Sauveur Convent Chapel),Zodiac Restaurant1 Turkey Shore Road2 Turkey Shore Road2 Victoria Terrace3 Victoria Terrace4 Victoria Terrace5 Victoria Terrace6 Victoria Terrace
Conservation areas
3 conservation areas cover 6.2% of Holyhead
Areas the council protects as a whole: demolition and changes to how buildings look need consent, and trees are protected.
Caergybi 199110 ha
Traeth Caergybi 19719 ha
Mynydd Caergybi 19917 ha
26 hain conservation areas, of 418 ha inside the built-up area.
The first, Traeth Caergybi, was designated in 1971; the newest, Mynydd Caergybi, in 1991. 21 of the 53 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
23 of Holyhead’s 53 listed buildings were added in 1994
The year each building now on the list was first listed.
1994 · 231951 · 61979 · 6
19501960197019801990200020102020
The first 6 entries were listed in 1951, 2 of the 2 Grade I buildings among them. 23 came in 1994. Only 1 has 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).
RomanRoman Wall Surrounding St Cybi's ChurchyardRoman; Fort
History Grade
Holyhead 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 (62 points, 53 per 10,000 residents)More than 67% of UK towns
Homes built before 1919 (32%)More than 87% 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
32% of Holyhead’s homes were built before 1919
Every home by when it was built, from council tax records, against England & Wales (the dark tick).
16%
Before 1900
17%
1900–18
1.2%
1919–29
7.9%
1930s
7.7%
1945–54
7.9%
1955–64
15%
1965–72
8.5%
1973–82
3.5%
1983–92
1.6%
1993–99
3.9%
2000–08
4.6%
2009–15
5.8%
2016–25
HolyheadEngland & Wales
16% of homes are Victorian or older, against 16% across England and Wales. The busiest period since was 1900–18, 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.
Born here
7 notable people born in Holyhead before 1900
Their lives on one timeline, earliest first.
John Griffith
Ralph Champneys Williams
Anthony George Lyster
Lillie Goodisson
Francis Dodd
John Russell
John Jones
1800182518501875190019251950
Francis Dodd1874–1949 · British artist (1874-1949)
John Griffith1848–1938 · Irish civil engineer (1848-1938)
JJ
John Jones1895–1962 · Welsh footballer born 1895
Anthony George Lyster1852–1920 · British architect (1852–1920)
Ralph Champneys Williams1848–1927 · Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland (1848–1927)
Lillie Goodisson1859–1947 · Australian nurse (1859-1947)
JR
John Russell1893–1917 · Welsh Victoria Cross recipient
Everyone born in Holyhead → Birthplaces from Wikidata; portraits from Wikimedia Commons.
Towns its size
Holyhead has the 53rd most Grade I buildings of 625 towns its size
Places of 7,000–19,000 people outside London, by Grade I listed buildings.
Holyhead2
#221 of 625for listed buildings per resident (45 per 10,000). Brecon, Malmesbury and Ludlow lead.
52 have more. The typical town its size has 0.
Neighbours
Listed buildings in the places around Holyhead
| Town | People | Listed | Grade I | History |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holyhead | 11,753 | 53 | 2 | A− |
| Valley | 2,003 | 3 | 0 | C− |
| Bodedern | 1,193 | 4 | 0 | B− |
| Cemaes | 1,023 | 1 | 0 | C |
| Llanerchymedd | 1,155 | 3 | 0 | B− |
In brief
Holyhead in brief
More of Holyhead’s homes are old than in most places: 32% were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town. All told, the list holds 53 listed buildings, 2 of them Grade I, including St Cybi's Church. Only 52 of the 625 towns nearest its size have more Grade I buildings.
Its older streets lie in 3 conservation areas, the first designated in 1971. Francis Dodd (1874), John Griffith (1848) and John Jones (1895) are among the 7 people born here before 1900. Otherwise the figures are ordinary: per resident it sits near the middle of UK towns; and it also has a scheduled monument.
Questions about Holyhead’s history
How many listed buildings are there in Holyhead?
Cadw lists 53 buildings inside Holyhead’s built-up area: 2 Grade I, 3 Grade II* and 48 Grade II.
What are the Grade I listed buildings in Holyhead?
2, including St Cybi's Church and Walls of upper churchyard.
Are there scheduled monuments in Holyhead?
Yes, 1 scheduled monument, including Roman Wall Surrounding St Cybi's Churchyard.
How many conservation areas are there in Holyhead?
3, covering about 26 hectares of the town. The largest are Caergybi and Traeth Caergybi.
When were Holyhead’s buildings listed?
The first in 1951; the most, 23, in 1994.
Are there old photos of Holyhead?
Yes: 8 public-domain photos and postcards from 1750 to 1900, all on this page.
Who was born in Holyhead?
Among people born before 1900: Francis Dodd (1874), John Griffith (1848), John Jones (1895), Anthony George Lyster (1852) and Ralph Champneys Williams (1848).
How old are the homes in Holyhead?
32% of homes were built before 1919 and 41% 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.