The final home left in an abandoned UK village where 93 houses were demolished due to fears of a deadly landslide has hit the market for just £35,000.
Up to 600 residents in Troedrhiwfuwch, near Caerphilly, Wales, were evacuated from their homes in the mid-1980s due to fears that a ‘moving mountain’ could engulf the village without warning.
The once thriving mining community, known locally as ‘Troedy’, soon became a ghost town – with the local school, library, pub, shop and 93 homes all demolished.
But in a rather remarkable twist, a three-bedroom home and the village post office evaded demolition, alongside a war memorial to honour 16 local men who died in the First and Second World Wars.
Despite fears by experts, the deadly mountain never hit the settlement, meaning that the solitary buildings in the ‘ghost village’ have stood the ultimate test of time.
Now, the final house on a once tightly packed terrace street has hit the hammer at auction – offering buyers a rare insight into an incredible past.
Listed as a ‘unique opportunity to acquire a property with an amazing history’, 2 Lawrence Avenue, features two reception rooms, a large kitchen area and up to three bedrooms.
Surrounded by ‘wonderful countryside and stunning views to the front and rear’, the isolated home is hoped to be an ‘ideal opportunity for either an investor or homeowner’, with vast garden space.
The final home left in an abandoned UK village where 93 houses were demolished due to fears of a deadly landslide has hit the market for just £35,000
Up to 600 residents in Troedrhiwfuwch, near Caerphilly, Wales, were evacuated from their homes in the mid-1980s due to fears that a ‘moving mountain’ could engulf the village without warning
Listed as a ‘unique opportunity to acquire a property with an amazing history’, the isolated home, 2 Lawrence Avenue, features two reception rooms, a large kitchen area and up to three bedrooms
According to auctioneer Sean Roper, of Paul Fosh Auctions, how this particular home managed to escape the village’s mass demolition remains entirely unknown. Pictured: the home for sale
According to auctioneer Sean Roper, of Paul Fosh Auctions, how this particular home managed to escape the village’s mass demolition remains entirely unknown.
‘Why this otherwise ordinary three-bedroom house survived while all the others didn’t remains a bit of a mystery – and it may be a story a new owner will want to unravel,’ he said.
‘It’s a vastly overused word, but this is a truly unique sale. The house offers a real-life connection to a vanished community where hundreds of people once lived, worked and raised families.
‘It’s a curious and poignant link to another age.’
The property is being sold with vacant possession but once updated is thought to fetch up to £900 per calendar month in rent.
It is being offered for online auction sale with a guide price of £35,000. Bidding for the unique home opens later this month.
The village, which once contained a church, library, pub, shop and even a school, first began to decline in the 1930s after experts raised concerns about the unstable ground.
By the 1950s, fears of an imminent landslide had intensified – and it was ultimately deemed unsafe to live, forcing all residents to relocate between the early to mid 1980s and a swift demolition of their homes.
Pictured: the village of Troedrhiwfuwch before it was demolished due to fears of a deadly landslide
‘It’s a vastly overused word, but this is a truly unique sale. The house offers a real-life connection to a vanished community where hundreds of people once lived, worked and raised families,’ said Mr Roper
The village, which one boasted a church, library, pub shop and even a school, first began to decline in the 1930s after experts raised concerns about the unstable ground
The three-bedroom home and the village post office evaded demolition, alongside a war memorial to honour 16 local men who died in the First and Second World Wars (pictured next to the house)
While residents no longer occupy the area, the community spirit endures – with former villagers gathering every year at the war memorial on Remembrance Sunday to keep the memory of ‘Troedy’ alive.
Troedrhiwfuwch is just one of several ‘ghost villages’ across Wales that went from being a thriving community to abandoned.
The tiny village of Pantyffynnon was deserted more than 50 years ago amid fears whole families could be buried under landslides.
Today shops, houses and a church appear frozen in the 1960s when villagers were evacuated because the mountain in the Swansea Valley was moving.
Former residents say they no longer recognise the place they once called home as it is overgrown and neglected.
Rosalyn Davies, 69, who grew up in the village, said: ‘There was a whole community here; this was my home and always will be my home. There must have been around 100 houses lost in all.’
She said: ‘It’s an awful thing; you not only lose a house, you lose a home. I had happy times here; it was a fabulous place to grow up as a child.
‘When I walk along today memories come flooding back but at least they are happy memories. It is also very sad as well. We lost a community. People scattered.
‘Today it’s a ghost village; It’s quite eerie, as I remember it as it was. It’s sad, so very sad. It was a very happy community. Very close-knitted.’
Cwmorthin was a slate mining village near Tanygrisiau, Gwynedd and dates back to the 11th Century.
It was once home to a bustling community but now the only humans that walk through the area are curious hikers.
Cwmorthin Quarry is located nearby the village which was active from 1810 and gained the area significant importance over the years by boosting the local economy and providing jobs for the villagers.
The quarry also became connected to the Ffestiniog Railway in 1860, Travel and Tour World reports.
But things changed when the slate industry collapsed after a decline in demand.
With little work in the area, many locals left and Cwmorthin was mostly abandoned by the 1940s.
It has since been left to turn to ruins and the Express recently dubbed it a ‘ghost village’.
