Historic Welsh buildings make latest 'at risk' list

THE ANNUAL update to the list of Britain's most endangered buildings - those most at risk of total dereliction or demolition and being lost forever - has been announced by conservation charity SAVE Britain's Heritage and includes five Welsh properties.

- JOANNE RIDOUT

The register is now in its 36th year, and every 12 months the charity adds very special buildings that are desperate to find a heritage hero to secure their future to the UK’s most at risk list.

Over the decades, the list has grown to more than 1,500 potential wrecks and historic buildings on their last legs, and now includes five more Welsh properties.

The charity is celebrating its 50th year of campaigning to save some of the UK’s most iconic and landmark buildings at risk of being demolished or developed - from cottages and cinemas to railway stations and stately homes.

Current campaigns, in conjunction with the Victorian Society, include the high-profile development plans for Liverpool Street Station in London, and Orchard House, the distinctive 1930s Marks & Spencer store in Oxford Street that M&S wants to demolish.

The five Welsh buildings added to the 2025 UK list are a mansion, a farmhouse, a cottage, a much-loved tourist attraction, and a slice of south Wales’ industrial past.

Bontddu Hall, Dolgellau, Gwynedd

After a fire in 2020, there are now plans to demolish this grand former hotel building.

The building was constructed in 1873 as a country house under the name Bryn Tirion, and since its conversion to a hotel hosted Winston Churchill and Neville Chamberlain.

The fire at the property was catastrophic. The building was reconverted into a private home in 2001, and the 2020 fire caused major damage. It is now derelict, with entire rooms burnt-out shells.