A former Grade II listed hotel in Penarth has been named as one of the UK's ten most endangered buildings.
The Marine Hotel on the town's dockside was built in 1865 - but it's been left to decay for more than forty years.
The site has been put on the market after plans to restore and reopen the hotel failed to materialise.
According to the Victorian Society, which campaigns to preserve Victorian and Edwardian buildings, a sale could be the last chance of save a piece of Penarth's maritime and architectural heritage.
President of the Victorian Society, Griff Rhys Jones, originally from Cardiff, said: "What? In posh and sought-after Penarth? This handsome hotel seeks care and attention?"
"After failed schemes and stop-start suggestions, buildings do start to look tired, and developers start looking for excuses, but some enterprise must surely recognise the value in this elegant building and its amenities."
"A classic case of added value in the heritage building itself, with history and glamour thrown in. We are pleased to help advertise its availability for a sensitive restoration to its former glory."
The Marine Hotel - and the adjoining Customs Office - was built around the same time as the docks, most likely by the Taff Vale Railway.
Over three million tons of coal were being exported through the docks every year, allowing Penarth to expand and propser.
The Marine was among a number of key hotels including the Washington, the Esplanade, Glendale and Lansdowne which served both dock workers and tourists - but today, only the Glendale and a few bed and breakfasts remain.
The hotel likely served during the Second World War when the docks became an American naval base supporting the D-Day landings of 1944.
It's thought that after the war, the Mercantile Marine buildings were probably converted to residential use.
In 1987, Penarth's disused docklands were transformed into the town's marina - with the former No.1 Dock and the outer basin being dredged to create 350 yacht berths while the former Customs House was turned into a thriving restaurant.
It was this redevelopment which sparked the wider regeneration of Cardiff Bay - but yet, the Marine Hotel remains boarded up and derelict.
In 2001, local restauranteur Martin Martinez opened the Old Custom House restaurant, and then in 2015, his family proposed a £6 million restoration of the Marine - turning it into a boutique hotel with four-star rooms and a cafeteria-wine bar.
It would have created around fifty jobs - but the scheme lapsed after two years due to funding issues.
Now, with the hotel still standing idle and with a market price of £2.25 million, the Victorian Society says it may be the final opportunity to restore one of the landmarks of Penarth's docklands, sitting in one of the Vale's most affluent areas.
James Hughes, director of The Victorian Society, said: "The Marine Hotel is an irreplaceable link to Penarth’s proud dockside past. After four decades of decay, this sale is a last chance to bring the building back from the brink and give it the future it deserves."
As such, the Marine Hotel is the only Welsh location on the endangered list, which also includes the Torquay Pavilion, the Bosworth Park water tower in Leicestershire and the Gibson Street Baths in Newcastle.
The Victorian Society says the list is based on public nominations - and all of the buildings selected have a "unique historical & community significance and value."
James Hughes added: "This year’s list again highlights the extraordinary quality and diversity of Victorian and Edwardian buildings in England and Wales as well, more troublingly, the variously chronic and acute threats that this particular group of buildings now faces."
"In shining a light on them we hope to foster debate, to galvanise support and ultimately to help find a sustainable future for each and every one of them. This is not just about preserving the past: it is about protecting a shared heritage for this and future generations."
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