4 River Row

This is a two-storey house in a terrace, built between 1852 and 1861, likely by the Plymouth Iron Company to provide housing for workers at the Abercanaid Pit and Pentrebach Forge. It is part of an early group of industrial housing at Abercanaid, originally comprising seven terraces facing east between the river and canal, with further terraces to the north. While many of these terraces have been altered or lost, this terrace and another detached house, Llwynyreos, survive.

The houses were designed to be relatively generous for the era, being double-fronted with small-paned sash windows, unlike earlier, narrower designs. They are narrow, with roof spans of 4-5 metres, and originally lacked rear outshuts due to access paths to the front and rear. The original plan included a central passageway and rear staircase. The houses were constructed of rubble stone with slate roofs, stone chimneys, and stone voussoirs (shaped stones) to the window and door openings on both floors. The facades were slightly offset to accommodate larger kitchen chimneys, alternating sides to create mirrored pairs. Originally, front and rear gardens were accessed via a footpath running along the terrace line.

As originally built, the rear walls were of rubble stone and featured a single small door and pantry window below, and a small upper window to one side. Number 4 River Row has been altered with plate-glass sash windows, a 20th-century aluminium door with overlight, thin stucco surrounds to the openings, and a 20th-century ground floor addition to the right. The right-hand end chimney has been removed, and the rear wall is of rubble stone. The property has not been inspected internally.