II*Public · listed 1989Neath CastlePhoto: Darren Wyn Rees at Aberdare Blog · CC BY 3.0
Neath Castle · Photo: Darren Wyn Rees at Aberdare Blog · CC BY 3.0A−History Grade
History of Neath · Cadw
94 listed buildings, 8 of them Grade II*
Cadw counts them inside Neath’s built-up area, 23 for every 10,000 residents. It also has 8 scheduled monuments. 28% of its homes were built before 1919. We have photos of 9 of its listed buildings and 4 old views of the town. Neath grades A− for history: #2 of 19 in West Glamorgan.
Listed buildings
94
23 per 10,000 residents
Grade I
0
exceptional interest
Grade II*
8
more than special interest
Scheduled monuments
8
2 registered parks & gardens
Homes built before 1919
28%
typical UK town 15%
In pictures
Neath in 17 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.
Neath AbbeyScheduled monument
Neath Roman SiteScheduled monument
Subway Under RailwayGrade II listed
The St Ives Public HouseGrade II listed
Constitutional ClubGrade II listed+12See 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
Neath from 1775 to 1830
4 old photos and postcards, in date order. All public domain, made before 1950.
c. 1775
c. 1820
c. 1820
c. 1830Public 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 Neath’s history is
Every Grade I and II* building, monument and historic park, over the age of each neighbourhood’s homes.
Grade II*Scheduled monumentPark or garden
Homes built before 1919, by neighbourhoodunder 10%10–25%25–50%50%+
6 of 29neighbourhoods have mostly pre-1919 homes; in the oldest, 91% were built before 1919.
Hover a dot for its name; tap one with a photo to open it.
94 listed buildings by grade
0 Grade I8 Grade II*86 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 8 Grade II* listed buildings in Neath
Particularly important buildings of more than special interest. 6 are photographed. Each opens its own page, with the official list entry.
II*Church · listed 1963Church of Saint CattwgPhoto: Cedwyn Davies · CC BY-SA 2.0
II*Inns & shops · listed 2003No. 1 Blast Furnace at former Neath Abbey IronworksPhoto: Dai Bevan · CC BY-SA 2.0
II*Church · listed 1975St Thomas's ChurchOn the list as Old Town Church of St ThomasPhoto: Dave Kelly · CC BY-SA 2.0
II*Church · listed 1989St David's ChurchOn the list as Parish Church of St DavidPhoto: David Dixon · CC BY-SA 2.0
II*Church · listed 1963Parish Church Of St.illtyd,llantwit RoadOn the list as Parish Church of St IlltydPhoto: SwalesM · CC BY-SA 4.0
Inns & shops · listed 2003No. 2 Blast Furnace at former Neath Abbey Ironworks
Church · listed 1989St Catherine's Church
What’s protected
The largest group of Neath’s listed buildings is inns, shops and warehouses
Every listed building sorted by what its list name says it is.
Inns, shops & warehouses28
Churches, chapels & priories25
Walls, gates & bridges16
Houses, terraces & villas14
Public & civic buildings7
Street furniture3
Memorials, crosses & tombs1
14 entries (15%) are houses, terraces and villas. 25 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
86 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 86 Grade II listed buildings, A to Z
Aberdulais Lock on Tennant CanalAberdulais Viaduct (partly in Tonna community)Adrian Hicks & SonBandstandBarclay's BankBethania Baptist ChapelBethania ChapelBridge over Tennant Canal W of former Crown CopperworksBridge over Tennant Canal to S of entrance to Neath AbbeyChurch of Saint John the BaptistChurch of Saint MatthewConstitutional ClubD S MorganE.Griffiths, Family GrocerForge tramroad bridge at Neath Abbey IronworksFormer Gate & Lodges to Gnoll HouseFormer engine manufacturing building at former Neath Abbey IronworksFormer forge and rolling mill at Neath Abbey IronworksFriends Meeting HouseGatepiers to St Illtyd's ChurchGates, Gatepiers & Churchyard Wall of St Thomas' ChurchGates, gate piers, walls and railings at Church of Saint CattwgGeneral MarketGorphwysfa ChapelGreat Western ChambersGwyn HallHermon ChapelHoreb ChapelHowel Gwyn memorial in churchyard of Church of St MatthewHugh Vaughan & Co LtdLlewellyn Almshouses, including Boundary WallsLlewellyn Almshouses, including Boundary WallsLlewellyn Almshouses, including Boundary WallsLlewellyn Almshouses, including Boundary WallsLlewellyn Almshouses, including Boundary WallsLlewellyn Almshouses, including Boundary WallsLlewellyn Almshouses, including Boundary WallsLlewellyn Almshouses, including Boundary WallsLloyd's BankLock keeper's and toll collector's office at SW end of Aberdulais AqueductLychgate to churchyard of Church of St MatthewMasonic TempleMechanics InstituteMidland BankMilepostMilestone on A4230Milestone on N side of A4230Monument in churchyard of St CattwgMoose HallNational Westminster BankNeath Abbey Railway ViaductNeath LibraryNeath Mission HallNew Road Methodist ChurchNew Road OverbridgeOld Post Office BuildingOld Town HallPedestal & Bronze Statue of Howell GwynPillar BoxPillar BoxQuaker's Viaduct (partly in Coedffranc community)Quaker's Viaduct (partly in Dyffryn Clydach community)Soar Maes-yr-haf Congregational Chapel and forecourt railingsStench Pipe on Daphne Road / Cromwell AvenueSubway Under RailwaySwiss GablesTabernacle ChapelTabernacle Chapel HallThe Grange, former stables and coach house to Dyffryn HouseThe Smiths ArmsThe St Ives Public HouseTramroad bridge over Skewen Cutting, Tennant Canal (partly in Coedffranc community)1 Old Market Street15 Market Street16 Old Market Street2 Old Market Street23 Green Street24 Church Street3 Old Market Street52 Windsor Road6 New Street6 Old Market Street7 Market Street7 New Street7a Old Market Street8 Wind Street
Conservation areas
1 conservation area covers 1.1% of Neath
Areas the council protects as a whole: demolition and changes to how buildings look need consent, and trees are protected.
Neath Town Centre 200513 ha
13 hain conservation areas, of 1,194 ha inside the built-up area.
39 of the 94 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
40 of Neath’s 94 listed buildings were added in 1989
The year each building now on the list was first listed.
1989 · 402003 · 142000 · 13
19501960197019801990200020102020
The first 2 entries were listed in 1963. 40 came in 1989. Only 4 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.
8 scheduled monuments
Nationally important archaeological sites and monuments, protected by law; work on them needs consent from the Welsh Government (Cadw).
Aberdulais AqueductPost Medieval/Modern; Aqueduct
Court Herbert Cross & Grave SlabEarly Medieval; Cross
Neath AbbeyMedieval; Abbey
Neath Abbey IronworksPost Medieval/Modern; Ironworks
Neath Abbey Ironworks Calcining KilnsIndustrial; Calcining kiln
Neath CastleMedieval; Castle
RomanNeath Roman SiteRoman; Fort
Tennant Canal: Skewen Cutting and tramroad bridgePost Medieval/Modern; Canal
2 registered parks and gardens
The GnollGrade II* · Formal and informal park; Victorian pleasure grounds; walled kitchen garden
Victoria GardensGrade II · Urban public park
History Grade
Neath 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 (121 points, 30 per 10,000 residents)More than 65% of UK towns
Homes built before 1919 (28%)More than 80% 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
28% of Neath’s homes were built before 1919
Every home by when it was built, from council tax records, against England & Wales (the dark tick).
12%
Before 1900
15%
1900–18
4.9%
1919–29
9.2%
1930s
6.3%
1945–54
10%
1955–64
9.6%
1965–72
8.5%
1973–82
5.3%
1983–92
6.1%
1993–99
6.5%
2000–08
3.7%
2009–15
2%
2016–25
NeathEngland & Wales
12% of homes are Victorian or older, against 16% across England and Wales. The busiest period since was 1900–18, which added 15% 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
29 notable people born in Neath before 1900
The 20 best known on one timeline, earliest first.
Noah Thomas
William Nott
David Thomas
Job Harris
Sam Mainwaring
Samuel Evans
Jessie Penn-Lewis
Hugh Evan-Thomas
Walter E. Rees
Milsom Rees
Thomas Griffiths
David Watts Morgan
Tom Whittington
Thomas Lloyd
Hugh Dalton
Alec James
Tom Reason
Glyn Stephens
Eric Evans
Henry Habberley Price
170017501800185019001950
Hugh Dalton1887–1962 · Welsh politician and British MP (1887-1962)
Hugh Evan-Thomas1862–1928 · Royal Navy admiral (1862-1928)
SE
Samuel Evans1859–1918 · British politician (1859–1918)
Jessie Penn-Lewis1861–1927 · British evangelist, editor (1861–1927)
HP
Henry Habberley Price1899–1984 · Welsh philosopher (1899–1984)
William Nott1782–1845 · British general
Thomas Griffiths1867–1955 · British politician (1867-1955)
David Thomas1794–1882 · Welsh industrialist, born 1794
Everyone born in Neath → Birthplaces from Wikidata; portraits from Wikimedia Commons.
Neighbours
Listed buildings in the places around Neath
In brief
Neath in brief
Old houses are part of Neath’s character: 28% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town. All told, the list holds 94 listed buildings, including Neath Castle. A conservation area has protected part of it since 2005.
Hugh Dalton (1887), Hugh Evan-Thomas (1862) and Samuel Evans (1859) are among the 29 people born here before 1900. It also has 8 scheduled monuments, the archaeology and ruins the law protects. Beyond that, it has no Grade I building, where the middle town its size has 1; and per resident it sits near the middle of UK towns.
Questions about Neath’s history
How many listed buildings are there in Neath?
Cadw lists 94 buildings inside Neath’s built-up area: 0 Grade I, 8 Grade II* and 86 Grade II.
Are there scheduled monuments in Neath?
Yes, 8 scheduled monuments, including Aberdulais Aqueduct, Court Herbert Cross & Grave Slab, Neath Abbey and Neath Abbey Ironworks.
How many conservation areas are there in Neath?
1, covering about 13 hectares of the town. The largest is Neath Town Centre.
When were Neath’s buildings listed?
The first in 1963; the most, 40, in 1989.
Are there old photos of Neath?
Yes: 4 public-domain photos and postcards from 1775 to 1830, all on this page.
Who was born in Neath?
Among people born before 1900: Hugh Dalton (1887), Hugh Evan-Thomas (1862), Samuel Evans (1859), Jessie Penn-Lewis (1861) and Henry Habberley Price (1899).
How old are the homes in Neath?
28% of homes were built before 1919 and 42% 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.