Fifty years ago today a number of Merthyr’s buildings were given a Grade II* listing by CADW. Below is a list of all the Grade II* listed buildings in Merthyr.
|
Name |
Location Grid Ref. Geo-coordinates |
Date Listed |
Notes |
|
Cefn Railway Viaduct |
Cyfarthfa SO0304907597 51°45′31″N 3°24′22″W |
7 Nov 1951 | Viaduct A dual-listed (see below) structure built in 1866 to carry the Brecon and Merthyr Railway over the Taf Fawr. It was designed by Henry Conybeare and Alexander Sutherland at a cost of £25,000. The fifteen arches of the 36.6 m (120 ft) high viaduct follow a gentle curve of 235 m (771 ft). |
| Cefn Railway Viaduct | Vaynor SO0304007795 51°45′38″N 3°24′23″W |
7 Nov 1951 |
Viaduct A dual-listed (see above) structure built in 1866 to carry the Brecon and Merthyr Railway over the Taf Fawr. The viaduct has tall, slender limestone piers, a material originally intended to be used throughout, however, the arches were completed using a contrasting red brick due to a trade union strike by stonemasons. |
|
Pont-y-Cafnau |
Park SO0376507138 51°45′17″N 3°23′44″W |
22 August 1975 |
Bridge An ironwork bridge spanning the River Taff constructed in 1793. The name, meaning “bridge of troughs”, comes from its unusual three tier design of a tramroad between two watercourses, one beneath the bridge deck and the other on an upper wooden structure which is no longer present. Pont-y-Cafnau is also designated as a scheduled monument. |
|
Town Hall |
Town SO0489306371 51°44′51″N 3°22′40″W |
22 August 1975 |
Town hall A Large municipal building designed by Edwin Arthur Johnson in the early Renaissance style and built 1896–98 by Harry Gibbon. Built of red Cattybrook brick with orange terracotta dressings on a base of Pennant Sandstone. Following restoration work it became the Red House, an arts centre, in 2014. |
|
Pontsarn Railway Viaduct |
Pant SO0454309921 51°46′47″N 3°23′06″W |
22 August 1975 |
Viaduct A dual-listed (see below) structure built in 1866 to carry the Brecon and Merthyr Railway over the Taf Fechan. It was designed by Henry Conybeare and Alexander Sutherland. The viaduct is 28 m (92 ft) high and 128 m (420 ft) long. |
|
Pontsarn Railway Viaduct |
Vaynor SO0453409918 51°46′47″N 3°23′07″W |
22 August 1975 |
Viaduct A dual-listed (see above) structure built in 1866 to carry the Brecon and Merthyr Railway over the Taf Fechan. It is constructed of limestone and has tall, slender piers with segmental arches. The Cadw description has seven arches, Newman has eight. |
|
Former Guest Memorial Library |
Dowlais SO0699107880 51°45′43″N 3°20′57″W |
22 August 1975 |
Library A two-storey cruciform building of 1855–1863 built as a memorial to John Josiah Guest of the Dowlais Ironworks. The Dowlais workmen intended for the library and reading room to be funded by subscription, but rising costs led to the building being completed by the company at a total cost of £7,000. |
|
Dowlais Works Blast Engine House |
Dowlais SO0690907739 51°45′38″N 3°21′01″W |
22 August 1975 |
Engine house A 54 m (177 ft) long and 15 m (49 ft) high red brick industrial building constructed in 1905–07 to house three blowing engines as part of the Dowlais Ironworks. The works went into decline in the 1930s and in the late 20th century the building was being used by a chocolate company. |
|
Quakers Yard Railway Viaduct |
Treharris ST0885396473 51°39′35″N 3°19′09″W |
1 April 1988 |
Viaduct A tall stone-built viaduct with six arches that spans both the River Taff and the Merthyr Tramroad. It was constructed 1840–41 by Isambard Kingdom Brunel as part of the Taff Vale Railway and widened by 1861. |
|
Ynysfach Engine House |
Cyfarthfa SO0452406096 51°44′44″N 3°23′04″W |
5 Nov 1995 |
Engine house Built in 1836 as part of the Ynysfach Ironworks, it originally housed an engine made at the Neath Abbey Ironworks. This four-storey building of blue Pennant Sandstone with white ashlar dressings fell into disuse when the Ynysfach works closed in 1874. In the 1980s It was restored and became a museum until closed by the Leisure Trust. |
|
Greenfield Bridge, Penydarren Tramroad |
Treharris ST0902496544 51°39′37″N 3°19′00″W |
20 February 2003 |
Bridge A single arch Pennant Sandstone structure built to replace an earlier wooden bridge that collapsed in 1815 when a train was passing over it. The semi-circular arch has span of 19.2 m (63 ft) at a height of 8.4 m (28 ft) above the river. It is part of the Merthyr Tramroad scheduled monument. |
|
Victoria Bridge, Penydarren Tramroad |
Treharris ST0942396281 51°39′29″N 3°18′39″W |
20 February 2003 |
Bridge A single high-arch bridge over the River Taff similar in design to the nearby Greenfield bridge. Built in 1815 to replace a wooden bridge of 1800–02 it was originally as part of the Merthyr Tramway but is now a footbridge. It is part of the Merthyr Tramroad scheduled monument. |
NOTE
The two viaducts constructed as part of the Brecon and Merthyr Railway both straddle the borders of neighbouring historic communities so have separate designations for each of these locations.