| According to English Heritage and CADW, "the older a building is, the more likely it is to be listed. All buildings built before 1700 which survive in anything like their original condition are listed, as are most built between 1700 and 1840. After that date, the criteria become tighter with time, so that post-1945 buildings have to be exceptionally important to be listed.
" The buildings are graded to show their relative architectural or historic interest: � Grade I buildings are of exceptional interest � Grade II* are particularly important buildings of more than special interest � Grade II are of special interest, warranting every effort to preserve them |
| THESE WE HAVE LOVED |
| A look at the printout of Listed and Scheduled Buildings in Rhondda Cynon Taf, produced by CADW and available at Aberdare Library, reveals nearly 200 historic buildings and other structures. A number of those buildings, which are supposedly of historic interest, have been pulled down in recent years. Here are just some of the more recent victims of the demolition crews... |
 |
| Bethel Chapel, Railway Terrace, Trecynon (A Grade II listed building) |
 |
| Clock Tower, old Boys' Grammar School, Hirwaun Road, Trecynon (The whole of the school was a Grade II listed building. It didn't save it from the property developers. The clock itself washed up in a salvage yard in Llanelli.) |
 |
| While it may seem strange, the flats at Hirwaun were considered of sufficient interest for the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historic Monuments to add them to its database in 1999. Five years later, they vanished in a less-than-spectacular controlled explosion. |
| Several years ago a group of Aberdare people set up a Civic Trust, with the aim of preserving the historic buildings of the valley. Maybe the time has come to revive the organization. In the meantime, let us know of any candidates for the archives. Here's our suggestion: |
 |
| The old lodge near at the southern end of Aberdare Park, until recently the home of Valleys Arts Marketing, and now ominously boarded up... |