Photo: Outwivcamera · CC BY-SA 4.018 listed buildings
Cadw counts them inside Rhayader’s built-up area, 98 for every 10,000 residents. It also has 1 scheduled monument. 33% of its homes were built before 1919. Rhayader grades A− for history.
Rhayader from 1813 to 1910
2 old photos and postcards, in date order. All public domain, made before 1950.
c. 1813
1910sPublic domain, from Wikimedia Commons, copied to our own server. Each credit opens the image’s page with its full description and history.
Where Rhayader’s history is
Every Grade I and II* building, monument and historic park.
Hover a dot for its name; tap one with a photo to open it.
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.
18 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 18 Grade II listed buildings, A to Z
1 conservation area covers 20% of Rhayader
Areas the council protects as a whole: demolition and changes to how buildings look need consent, and trees are protected.
16 of the 18 listed buildings stand in one.
Cadw’s conservation areas via DataMapWales. Hectares are the part of each area inside the built-up area.
More than half of Rhayader’s listed buildings were added in one year, 1995
The year each building now on the list was first listed.
The first 4 entries were listed in 1952. 12 came in 1995. Only 0 have been added in the last 15 years.
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).
Rhayader grades A− for history
Protected heritage and the age of the town’s homes, against all 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.
33% of Rhayader’s homes were built before 1919
Every home by when it was built, from council tax records, against England & Wales (the dark tick).
33% of homes are Victorian or older, against 16% across England and Wales. The busiest period since was 1973–82, which added 20% 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.
Listed buildings in the places around Rhayader
| Town | People | Listed | Grade I | History |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rhayader | 1,837 | 18 | 0 | A− |
| Llandrindod Wells | 5,429 | 22 | 0 | A− |
| Llanidloes | 2,197 | 171 | 1 | A+ |
| Builth Wells | 2,620 | 44 | 0 | A |
Rhayader in brief
Old houses are part of Rhayader’s character: 33% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town. In all there are 18 listed buildings. A conservation area protects part of it. More than half went on the list in a single year, 1995: 12 of 18. The rest is about typical: per resident it sits near the middle of UK towns; and it also has a scheduled monument.
Questions about Rhayader’s history
How many listed buildings are there in Rhayader?
Cadw lists 18 buildings inside Rhayader’s built-up area: 0 Grade I, 0 Grade II* and 18 Grade II.
Are there scheduled monuments in Rhayader?
Yes, 1 scheduled monument, including Tomen Llansantffraid.
How many conservation areas are there in Rhayader?
1, covering about 19 hectares of the town. The largest is Rhayader.
When were Rhayader’s buildings listed?
The first in 1952; the most, 12, in 1995.
Are there old photos of Rhayader?
Yes: 2 public-domain photos and postcards from 1813 to 1910, all on this page.
How old are the homes in Rhayader?
33% of homes were built before 1919 and 38% 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.