II*Inns & shops · listed 1998Former Blast Engine Houses at Tondu IronworksPhoto: FruitMonkey · CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: Alan Hughes · CC BY-SA 2.0A−History Grade
History of Sarn · Cadw
67 listed buildings, 4 of them Grade II*
Cadw counts them inside Sarn’s built-up area, 56 for every 10,000 residents. It also has 1 scheduled monument. 22% of its homes were built before 1919. We have photos of 4 of its listed buildings. Sarn grades A− for history: #4 of 32 in Mid Glamorgan.
Listed buildings
67
56 per 10,000 residents
Grade I
0
exceptional interest
Grade II*
4
more than special interest
Scheduled monuments
1
nationally important sites
Homes built before 1919
22%
typical UK town 15%
In pictures
Landmarks of Sarn
Nearly every Grade I and II* building, photographed. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Former Blast Engine Houses at Tondu IronworksGrade II* listed
MaendyGrade II* listed
Calcining Kilns and attached abutment at Tondu IronworksGrade II* listed
Mile markerGrade II listedPhotos 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 Sarn’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%+
0 of 7neighbourhoods have mostly pre-1919 homes; in the oldest, 47% were built before 1919.
Hover a dot for its name; tap one with a photo to open it.
67 listed buildings by grade
0 Grade I4 Grade II*63 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 4 Grade II* listed buildings in Sarn
Particularly important buildings of more than special interest. 3 are photographed. Each opens its own page, with the official list entry.
II*House · listed 1974MaendyPhoto: FruitMonkey · CC BY-SA 3.0
II*Inns & shops · listed 1998Calcining Kilns and attached abutment at Tondu IronworksPhoto: FruitMonkey · CC BY-SA 3.0
Inns & shops · listed 1998Lift Tower at Tondu Ironworks
What’s protected
Most of Sarn’s listed buildings are homes
Every listed building sorted by what its list name says it is.
Houses, terraces & villas55
Inns, shops & warehouses4
Memorials, crosses & tombs3
Churches, chapels & priories2
Walls, gates & bridges2
Public & civic buildings1
55 entries (82%) are houses, terraces and villas. 2 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
63 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 63 Grade II listed buildings, A to Z
Bowen/Roberts Monuments in Llansantfrraid churchyardChurch of St Ffraid aka St Bride, LlansantffraidChurchyard cross socket in Llansantffraid churchyardFormer Tramroad BridgeFormer Truck Shop Tondu Ironworks now Foxtroy Residential HomeMile markerMonument to Morgan Morgan in Llansantffraid churchyardPark CottagePark HouseWilliams monument and railings in Llansantffraid churchyard1-26 Park Terrace (consec)1-26 Park Terrace (consec)1-26 Park Terrace (consec)1-26 Park Terrace (consec)1-26 Park Terrace (consec)1-26 Park Terrace (consec)1-26 Park Terrace (consec)1-26 Park Terrace (consec)1-26 Park Terrace (consec)1-26 Park Terrace (consec)1-26 Park Terrace (consec)1-26 Park Terrace (consec)1-26 Park Terrace (consec)1-26 Park Terrace (consec)1-26 Park Terrace (consec)1-26 Park Terrace (consec)1-26 Park Terrace (consec)1-26 Park Terrace (consec)1-26 Park Terrace (consec)1-26 Park Terrace (consec)1-26 Park Terrace (consec)1-26 Park Terrace (consec)1-26 Park Terrace (consec)1-26 Park Terrace (consec)1-26 Park Terrace (consec)1-26 Park Terrace (consec)23 Derllwyn Road27-52 Park Terrace (consec)27-52 Park Terrace (consec)27-52 Park Terrace (consec)27-52 Park Terrace (consec)27-52 Park Terrace (consec)27-52 Park Terrace (consec)27-52 Park Terrace (consec)27-52 Park Terrace (consec)27-52 Park Terrace (consec)27-52 Park Terrace (consec)27-52 Park Terrace (consec)27-52 Park Terrace (consec)27-52 Park Terrace (consec)27-52 Park Terrace (consec)27-52 Park Terrace (consec)27-52 Park Terrace (consec)27-52 Park Terrace (consec)27-52 Park Terrace (consec)27-52 Park Terrace (consec)27-52 Park Terrace (consec)27-52 Park Terrace (consec)27-52 Park Terrace (consec)27-52 Park Terrace (consec)27-52 Park Terrace (consec)27-52 Park Terrace (consec)27-52 Park Terrace (consec)
Conservation areas
1 conservation area covers 3.9% of Sarn
Areas the council protects as a whole: demolition and changes to how buildings look need consent, and trees are protected.
Derllwyn Road, Tondu 198614 ha
14 hain conservation areas, of 365 ha inside the built-up area.
59 of the 67 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 Sarn’s listed buildings were added in one year, 1998
The year each building now on the list was first listed.
1998 · 62
19501960197019801990200020102020
The first 1 entry was listed in 1963. 62 came in 1998. 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).
Remains of Tondu IronworksPost Medieval/Modern; Ironworks
History Grade
Sarn 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 (73 points, 62 per 10,000 residents)More than 70% of UK towns
Homes built before 1919 (22%)More than 65% 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.
Neighbours
Listed buildings in the places around Sarn
| Town | People | Listed | Grade I | History |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sarn | 11,867 | 67 | 0 | A− |
| Pen-y-fai | 2,301 | 6 | 0 | C− |
| Bettws | 2,237 | 1 | 1 | D |
| Llangeinor | 1,016 | 1 | 0 | C |
| Bridgend | 51,751 | 91 | 2 | C+ |
| Cefn Cribwr | 1,379 | 1 | 0 | C |
| Pont Rhyd-y-cyff | 1,481 | 0 | 0 | D |
| Pencoed | 9,119 | 8 | 0 | C− |
In brief
Sarn in brief
Sarn has 67 listed buildings, including Former Blast Engine Houses at Tondu Ironworks. A conservation area has protected part of it since 1986. Of the whole list, 82% are houses, terraces and villas. More than half went on the list in a single year, 1998: 62 of 67. 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 Johnny Thomas (1880) was born here before 1900.
Questions about Sarn’s history
How many listed buildings are there in Sarn?
Cadw lists 67 buildings inside Sarn’s built-up area: 0 Grade I, 4 Grade II* and 63 Grade II.
Are there scheduled monuments in Sarn?
Yes, 1 scheduled monument, including Remains of Tondu Ironworks.
How many conservation areas are there in Sarn?
1, covering about 14 hectares of the town. The largest is Derllwyn Road, Tondu.
When were Sarn’s buildings listed?
The first in 1963; the most, 62, in 1998.
How old are the homes in Sarn?
22% of homes were built before 1919 and 29% 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.