Striking terracotta facade disguising the most appalling dereliction
Grade II-listed, 1911, Percy Thomas
The striking building is an early work by one of Wales’ most important architects, Sir Percy Thomas, who was also responsible for the Bute building in Cathays and the Guildhall in Swansea. The YMCA’s distinctive four-storey terracotta façade has been part of the Merthyr skyline since 1911, but now this landmark building is in an appalling condition: water is running in through the badly eroded roof and its impressive red brick and yellow terracotta façade is crumbling. Last year the National Lottery Heritage Fund awarded the Portmorlais district £1.68 for regeneration. The YMCA building was mentioned in the strategy documents, and it was expected that some of the grant money would to go towards repair works and finding a new use for the building, but no plans have been released as yet.
Ian Dungavell, Director of the The Victorian Society said ‘It has survived two applications for demolition by previous owners and is once again up for sale. It now desperately needs to find a new owner who recognises its potential for reuse, before its condition worsens’.
Status Update / March 2026
The year after the building featured on our list, in 2012, Merthyr Tydfil Borough Council commissioned an options appraisal that, in addition to considering potential uses for the building, also estimated the possible cost of repairs. With an approximate figure confirmed by the QS, the Cambrian Heritage Regeneration Trust committed to raising the necessary funds to make the building safe. A £400,000 programme of emergency repairs was successfully completed in January of 2015, but the building remains vacant.