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AHistory Grade
History of Builth Wells · Cadw

44 listed buildings

Cadw counts them inside Builth Wells’s built-up area, 168 for every 10,000 residents. It also has 1 scheduled monument. 42% of its homes were built before 1919. We have photos of 5 of its listed buildings and 8 old views of the town. Builth Wells grades A for history: #4 of 7 in Powys.

1scheduled monument
Listed buildings
44
168 per 10,000 residents
Grade I
0
exceptional interest
Grade II*
0
more than special interest
Scheduled monuments
1
nationally important sites
Homes built before 1919
42%
typical UK town 15%
In pictures

Builth Wells in 14 photos and old views

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.

Through time

Builth Wells from 1910 to 1940

8 old photos and postcards, in date order. All public domain, made before 1950.

Duggans clothes shop Builth Wells1910s
EdwardianDuggans clothes shop Builth WellsPhoto: Percy Benzie Abery · CC0
Alpha Calvinistic Methodist chapel, Builth Wells1920s
Between the warsAlpha Calvinistic Methodist chapel, Builth WellsPhoto: Percy Benzie Abery · CC0
Construction of the new Irfon bridge, Builth Wells1920s
Between the warsConstruction of the new Irfon bridge, Builth WellsPhoto: Percy Benzie Abery · CC0
The Castle, Builth Wells1920s
Between the warsThe Castle, Builth WellsPhoto: Percy Benzie Abery · CC0
Broad street, Builth Wells1930s
Between the warsBroad street, Builth WellsPhoto: Percy Benzie Abery · CC0
Graig-y-ddu, Builth Wells1930s
Between the warsGraig-y-ddu, Builth WellsPhoto: Percy Benzie Abery · CC0
Agricultural machinery at Builth Wells mart1940s
War and afterAgricultural machinery at Builth Wells martPhoto: Percy Benzie Abery · CC0
Cloverley House, Builth Wells1940s
War and afterCloverley House, Builth WellsPhoto: Percy Benzie Abery · CC0

Public 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 Builth Wells’s history is

Every Grade I and II* building, monument and historic park.

Builth Castle, scheduled monument
Scheduled monument

Hover a dot for its name; tap one with a photo to open it.

44 listed buildings by grade
0 Grade I0 Grade II*44 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.

What’s protected

The largest group of Builth Wells’s listed buildings is inns, shops and warehouses

Every listed building sorted by what its list name says it is.

Inns, shops & warehouses20
Houses, terraces & villas14
Churches, chapels & priories5
Street furniture2
Public & civic buildings2
Memorials, crosses & tombs1

14 entries (32%) are houses, terraces and villas. 5 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

44 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 44 Grade II listed buildings, A to Z
Conservation areas

1 conservation area covers 4.1% of Builth Wells

Areas the council protects as a whole: demolition and changes to how buildings look need consent, and trees are protected.

Builth Wells4 ha
4 hain conservation areas, of 100 ha inside the built-up area.

1 of the 44 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 Builth Wells’s listed buildings were added in one year, 1991

The year each building now on the list was first listed.

1991 · 351952 · 6
19501960197019801990200020102020

The first 6 entries were listed in 1952. 35 came in 1991. 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).

Builth Castle
Builth CastleMedieval; Motte and Bailey
History Grade

Builth Wells 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 (46 points, 176 per 10,000 residents)More than 78% of UK towns
Homes built before 1919 (42%)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

42% of Builth Wells’s homes were built before 1919

Every home by when it was built, from council tax records, against England & Wales (the dark tick).

37%
Before 1900
5.7%
1900–18
0%
1919–29
4%
1930s
5.7%
1945–54
4.2%
1955–64
5%
1965–72
11%
1973–82
6.9%
1983–92
8.8%
1993–99
8.9%
2000–08
0.2%
2009–15
2.4%
2016–25
Builth WellsEngland & Wales

37% of homes are Victorian or older, against 16% across England and Wales. The busiest period since was 1973–82, which added 11% 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.

Neighbours

Listed buildings in the places around Builth Wells

TownPeopleListedGrade IHistory
Builth Wells2,620440A
Llandrindod Wells5,429220A−
Rhayader1,837180A−
In brief

Builth Wells in brief

Old houses are part of Builth Wells’s character: 42% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town. All told, the list holds 44 listed buildings, including Builth Castle. For its size, it has more listed heritage than 78% of UK towns.

A conservation area protects part of it. More than half went on the list in a single year, 1991: 35 of 44. Otherwise the figures are ordinary: it also has a scheduled monument.

Questions about Builth Wells’s history

How many listed buildings are there in Builth Wells?

Cadw lists 44 buildings inside Builth Wells’s built-up area: 0 Grade I, 0 Grade II* and 44 Grade II.

Are there scheduled monuments in Builth Wells?

Yes, 1 scheduled monument, including Builth Castle.

How many conservation areas are there in Builth Wells?

1, covering about 4 hectares of the town. The largest is Builth Wells.

When were Builth Wells’s buildings listed?

The first in 1952; the most, 35, in 1991.

Are there old photos of Builth Wells?

Yes: 8 public-domain photos and postcards from 1910 to 1940, all on this page.

How old are the homes in Builth Wells?

42% of homes were built before 1919 and 46% 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.