72 Nightingale Street

72 Nightingale Street is a Grade II listed house forming part of an important early group of industrial housing at Abercanaid, built between 1852 and 1861, possibly by the Plymouth Iron Company to house workers at Abercanaid Pit and Pentrebach Forge.

The house is a 2-storey terraced dwelling, originally constructed of square rubble stone with a close-eaved slate roof and stone end stacks. It is double-fronted with small-paned sash windows—two on each floor—and a centre door, probably with an overlight. Stone voussoirs frame the openings on both floors, with matching stone sills. The rear wall is also of rubble stone, originally featuring one small door and a pantry window below on one side and one small upper window.

Though narrow, with a roof-span of 4–5 metres and no rear outshuts, the houses were relatively generous for their period, being double-fronted rather than the single-window-and-door type seen in earlier workers' housing. The plan was arranged around a centre passageway with a rear staircase. The facades are slightly offset to accommodate larger kitchen chimneys, with the offset side alternated between houses to create mirrored pairs. Gardens were accessed via a footpath running down the terrace line.

The original Abercanaid settlement comprised 7 terraces in 4 rows facing east between the river and canal, plus 3 longer rows to the north known as The Squares, along with a terrace of larger houses and 2 detached houses for higher-grade employees. The terraces to the north have been demolished, as has one detached house; only Llwynyreos survives. Of the 7 surviving terraces, 5 are listed; the rear 2 in Canal Row remain unlisted. The houses backing onto gardens (Nos 70–81 Nightingale Street) have generally been extended to the rear; others retain their original depth.

No. 72 has been significantly altered. Between 2002 and 2003, the original 12-pane sash windows and 6-panel door with overlight were replaced with 21st-century uPVC equivalents. The slate roof has been replaced with concrete tiles, and the rear wall has been rendered with one upper window inserted.