Forty years after it was abandoned, a once-thriving British village that was home to 600 people, complete with pubs and shops, now stands empty but still features homes full of furniture. The last house on the streets of the village, which was abandoned not long ago, is heading to auction.
The History of Troedrhiwfuwch
Not so long ago, this village was a modest yet vibrant community, with approximately 600 residents inhabiting the steep hillside. It comprised around 100 terraced houses and boasted a school, church, shops and pubs. Its origins dated back to the 1850s, having been established to accommodate workers at the nearby mines. However, grave concerns emerged that it potentially faced the same dreadful fate as Aberfan, site of a catastrophic landslide which led to one of the UK's biggest tragedies.
At the village of Troedrhiwfuwch in the Rhymney Valley of south Wales, the anxieties centred on the geological instability of the surrounding landscape and fears that the mountain looming behind the village was shifting. Consequently, in 1985 the residents were relocated.
The Last House Standing
Many might assume that Troedrhiwfuwch was entirely erased from existence. Yet a stroll along the winding main road that snakes up the valley and through the haunting remnants of the village tells a rather different story. Two surviving houses from the long-forgotten village continued to serve as cherished homes — the former post office situated on the main road and a cottage tucked behind vegetation on Chapel Street, one of three residential streets within the disappeared village.
This solitary remaining property perched on the hillside of a former mining settlement — condemned due to a "moving mountain" — offers a haunting glimpse into the past for a prospective new owner. The isolated dwelling, which echoes the memory of this once-bustling and beloved village that boasted a tight-knit community where everybody knew one another and families lived side-by-side for generations, is now heading to auction.
Auction Details
Sean Roper, of Paul Fosh Auctions, said: "It's a vastly overused word but this a truly unique sale for all manner of reasons, the main one being that the house offers a real-life connection to a now vanished community where a population of more than 600 men, women and children and their pets, once thrived."
"The lone house on the hill, 2 Lawrence Terrace, in the demolished village near New Tredegar, is a curious link to another age. Why this otherwise ordinary three-bedroom house survived while all the others didn't remains a bit of a mystery but it may be a story a new owner of the property may wish to unravel. Whatever the circumstances this sale offers an unrepeatable opportunity for someone to acquire a property with a wonderfully amazing history."
"Now this house that was once in the centre of the village is the only remaining property, other than the former post office and the poignant war memorial, with a vital link to those far off days and times."
"The property, surrounded by wonderful country and steep mountainside vistas, has stunning views to the front and rear. It would appear to present an ideal opportunity for either an investor or homeowner."
Property Features
The property boasts two reception rooms, a kitchen and bathroom on the ground floor, three bedrooms upstairs, and a rear yard with outbuildings and a front garden. The auction house marketing this lone hillside survivor confirms it also benefits from gas central heating (not tested) and is partly uPVC double glazed. Outside, there is a rear yard with sheds, a front garden, and breathtaking valley and mountain views. Inside the rear reception room, there is a dated 1970s fireplace, a small cream sofa, and a small dining table and chairs.
The home is being sold with vacant possession, but once modernised, the agent believes it could command up to £900 per calendar month in rental income. It is being offered via online auction through Paul Fosh Auctions with a guide price of £35,000, with bidding opening at noon on Tuesday, June 23 and closing at 2.36pm on Thursday, June 25.
