The village of Troedrhiwfuwch was abandoned and then vanished after being wiped from the map
The other houses have vanished and this sole survivor is being engulfed by trees and undergrowth(Image: Paul Fosh Auctions)
Step back in time and the Welsh mining village of Troedrhiwfuwch was a small but bustling place to call home, with around 600 residents occupying the steep hillside of this section of the Rhymney Valley.
The village had around 100 terraced houses mainly clustered around three main streets and included a school, church, shops and pubs, and dated back to the 1850s when it was born out of the need to house workers at the local mines.
But, in a similar situation to the village of Troedrhiwgwair also located in the Rhymney Valley, there were concerns that both villages potentially faced the same peril as Aberfan and could fall victim to a catastrophe echoing one of the UK’s most devastating landslip disasters. For more property stories sent to your inbox twice a week sign up to the property newsletter here.
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It’s a mystery why this house survived when all the others in the hillside streets were demolished(Image: Paul Fosh Auctions)
At Troedrhiwfuwch, the worries were concerning the geology of the landscape, with fears that the mountain behind the village was moving, so in 1985 the residents were moved out. Both communities were dealt the same fate – they vanished under the bulldozer.
Some people might think that Troedrhiwfuwch was completely wiped off the map, with the only public structure to remember the community that disappeared being the war memorial; but a wander along the main road that winds up the valley and through the ghostly memory of the village shows otherwise.
Quirky entrance and cooking space underlines the need for the house to be updated and renovated(Image: Paul Fosh Auctions)
There are two surviving houses of the long lost village that continued to be much-loved homes – the former post office on the main road and a cottage hiding behind foliage on Chapel Street, one of the three residential streets within the vanished village.
This solitary remaining property on the hillside in a former mining settlement condemned because of a “moving mountain” provides an eerie glance into the past for a new owner.
Into the main lounge and maybe it’s a surprise to see it still full of furniture and personal items(Image: Paul Fosh Auctions)
The isolated dwelling that echoes the memory of this once busy and much-loved village that boasted a tight community where everyone knew each other’s names and families lived for generations side-by-side, is now going under the hammer at auction.
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.
Inside the rear reception room(Image: Paul Fosh Auctions)
“The lone house on the hill, number 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 house has three-bedrooms, one being used as a walk-in wardrobe, and the bathroom is on the ground floor(Image: Paul Fosh Auctions)
“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.”
The house has two reception rooms, a kitchen and bathroom on the ground floor, three bedrooms upstairs, a rear yard with outbuildings and a front garden. The auction house selling this sole hillside survivor states it also has gas central heating (not tested) and is part uPVC double glazed. Outside there is a rear yard with sheds, a front garden, and absorbing valley and mountain views.
The property is being sold with vacant possession but once updated it is thought by the agent it could fetch up to £900 per calendar month in rent. It is being offered for online auction sale through Paul Fosh Auctions with a guide price of £35,000 with bidding opening at noon on Tuesday, June 23 and ending 2.36pm on Thursday, June 25.
To find out more, including booking a slot on the viewing days of Wednesday June 10 and Wednesday June 17, call the auction house on 01633 254044. For more property, renovation, and interior design stories join our Amazing Welsh Homes Facebook group here.