Listed building

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The Forth Bridge, designed by Sir Benjamin Baker and Sir John Fowler, opened in 1890, and now owned by Network Rail, is designated as a Category A listed building by Historic Scotland.
The Forth Bridge, designed by Sir Benjamin Baker and Sir John Fowler, opened in 1890, and now owned by Network Rail, is designated as a Category A listed building by Historic Scotland.

A listed building in the United Kingdom is a building or other structure officially designated as being of special architectural, historical or cultural significance. It is a widely used status, applied to around half a million buildings.

A listed building may not be demolished, extended or altered without special permission from the local planning authority (who typically consult the relevant central government agency, particularly for significant alterations to the more notable listed buildings). Owners of listed buildings are, in some circumstances, compelled to repair and maintain them and can face criminal prosecution if they fail to do so or if they perform unauthorised alterations. Because of this, and because listing can limit the options available for significant expansion or improvement, the law allows for owners of listed buildings to object to the listing.

Although most structures appearing on the lists are buildings, other structures such as bridges, monuments, sculptures, war memorials, and even milestones and mileposts may also be listed. Ancient, military and uninhabited structures (such as Stonehenge) are sometimes instead classified as Scheduled Ancient Monuments and protected by much older legislation whilst cultural landscapes such as parks and gardens are currently "listed" on a non-statutory basis. In England, this complex system may be rationalised under the Heritage Protection Review, see below.

Listing was begun by a provision in the Town and Country Planning Act 1947.

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In England and Wales the authority for listing is granted by the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 and is presently administered by English Heritage, an agency of the Department for Culture, Media & Sport, and Cadw in Wales (where it is a devolved issue). Listed buildings in danger of decay are listed on English Heritage's Buildings At Risk Register.

There are three types of listed status (in descending order of "importance" and difficulty to obtain planning permission):

  • Grade I: buildings of outstanding or national architectural or historic interest.
  • Grade II*: particularly significant buildings of more than local interest.
  • Grade II: buildings of special architectural or historic interest.

There was formerly a non-statutory Grade III, which was abolished in 1970.[1] Additionally, Grades A, B and C were used in pre-1977 lists, for Anglican churches in use – these correspond to Grades I, II* and II.

The government is currently proposing to abolish Grade II*. Despite 91% of respondents to the Heritage Protection Review voicing their opposition, English Heritage says it expects the proposal to become law, which would see many Grade II* buildings downgraded to Grade II.[2]

As of May 2003 there are approximately 442,000 listings in place, of which 418,000 (94.5%) are Grade II, 18,000 (4.1%) are Grade II*, and 6,000 (1.4%) are Grade I. Forty five per cent of Grade I buildings are Church of England parish churches.[3] There are estimated to be about 500,000 actual buildings listed, as listing entries can apply to more than one building. The criteria for listing include architectural interest, historic interest and close historical associations with significant people or events. Buildings which are not individually noteworthy may still be listed if they form part of a group that is – for example, all the buildings in a square. Sometimes large areas comprising many buildings may not warrant listing but are given the looser protection of designation as a conservation area.

Government general policy is to list all buildings erected before 1700 "which survive in anything like their original condition" and most buildings of 1700–1840. More selection is exercised among buildings of the Victorian period and the 20th century. Buildings less than 30 years old are rarely listed, and buildings less than 10 years old never.

Although the decision to list may be made on the basis of the architectural or historic interest of one small part of the building, the listing protection nevertheless applies to the whole building.

De-listing is theoretically possible but rare in practice – one example being the November 30, 2001 de-listing of North Corporation Primary School, Liverpool.

In March 2007 The Department for Culture, Media & Sport proposed in a government White Paper major reforms to the system in England and Wales. This was the culmination of a 4 year review process. If approved, the term Listed Building will be replaced by Designated Structure.[citation needed] This was a result of a wide-ranging review to rationalise designations in which Scheduled Ancient Monuments, Listed Landscapes on the non-statutory parks and gardens register, monuments and maritime heritage sites would all also become Designated Structures or Sites. It is proposed that the three Grades I, II* and II then apply to all Designated Buildings and Sites.

If approved by Parliament managing these new proposals will be the sole responsibility of English Heritage instead of the Department of Culture Media and Sport, as at present.

See also: Category:Grade I listed buildings for a list of buildings across England and Wales
Buckingham Palace, the official London residence of the British monarch.
Buckingham Palace, the official London residence of the British monarch.
Clevedon Pier, showing boards and seating.
Clevedon Pier, showing boards and seating.
St. Catherine's College, Oxford, one of a handful of modern buildings awarded Grade 1 Listing.
St. Catherine's College, Oxford, one of a handful of modern buildings awarded Grade 1 Listing.
Newark Priory located in Pyrford near the town of Woking, England, one of many Grade I buildings listed upon the English Heritage Buildings at Risk Register
Newark Priory located in Pyrford near the town of Woking, England, one of many Grade I buildings listed upon the English Heritage Buildings at Risk Register [4]

See also: :Category:Grade II* listed buildings for a list of buildings across England and Wales
The Johnny Haynes stand at Craven Cottage is a Grade II* listed building.
The Johnny Haynes stand at Craven Cottage is a Grade II* listed building.
Centre Point, a Grade II listed building.
Centre Point, a Grade II listed building.

See also: :Category:Grade II listed buildings for a list of buildings across England and Wales

  • In 2002 there were 80 seaside piers in England that were listed, variously at Grades I, II* and II.
  • Golden Lane Estate, Clerkenwell, London is an example of a site which includes buildings of different Grades, II & II*
  • Cobham Park, Kent is a Listed Landscape (Humphry Repton and older landscape), contains Grade I structures (Cobham Hall and Darnley Mausoleum) Grade II structures (ornamental dairy etc), plus a Scheduled Ancient Monument (a buried Roman villa).
  • West Norwood Cemetery is a Gothic Revival metropolitan cemetery and crematorium which contains 65 structures of Grade II or II*, mainly sepulchral monuments but also boundary structures and mausolea.

Many councils, for example, Birmingham City Council, maintain a register of Locally listed buildings in addition to the statutory list. There is no statutory protection of a building or object on this list. Councils hope that owners will recognise the merits of their properties and keep them unaltered if at all possible.

These grades are used by Birmingham:

Grade A
This is of statutory list quality. To be the subject of notification to English Heritage and/or the serving of a Building Preservation Notice if imminently threatened.
Grade B
Important in the city wide architectural or local street scene context, warranting positive efforts to ensure retention.
Grade C
Of significance in the local historical/vernacular context, including industrial archaeological features, and worthy of retention.

Listed buildings in Northern Ireland are administered by the Environment and Heritage Service, under powers granted by Article 42 of the Planning (Northern Ireland) Order 1991.

The scheme of listing is as follows:

  • Grade A: buildings of national importance and superior examples of a specific type.
  • Grade B+: buildings of regional importance, or important buildings that would qualify as Grade A but for lower-quality design or subsequent additions.
  • Grade B1: buildings of local importance, or good examples of some type.
  • Grade B2: buildings of local importance, or good examples of some type, but of a lower quality than Grade B1.

In Scotland the Town and Country Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 applies. As with other powers regarding planning, conservation is a power devolved to the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Executive. Historic Scotland is the agency charged by the Executive for protecting listed buildings and scheduled monuments.

The scheme for classifying buildings is:

  • Category A: "buildings of national or international importance, either architectural or historic, or fine little-altered examples of some particular period, style or building type"
  • Category B: "buildings of regional or more than local importance, or major examples of some particular period, style or building type which may have been altered"
  • Category C(s): "buildings of local importance, lesser examples of any period, style or building type, as originally constructed or altered; and simple, traditional buildings which group well with others in categories A and B or are part of a planned group such as an estate or an industrial complex"

As of 2007, approximately 8% of listings are category A, 60% are category B, and 32% are category C(s).

The National Gallery of Scotland, in Edinburgh, designed by William Henry Playfair and opened in 1859, is one of the National Galleries of Scotland, a public body funded by the Scottish Executive Education Department. It is a Category A listed building.
The National Gallery of Scotland, in Edinburgh, designed by William Henry Playfair and opened in 1859, is one of the National Galleries of Scotland, a public body funded by the Scottish Executive Education Department. It is a Category A listed building.

The main stand of Ibrox Stadium, the home of Rangers, was designed by Archibald Leitch in 1929. It is designated as a Category B listed building by Historic Scotland.
The main stand of Ibrox Stadium, the home of Rangers, was designed by Archibald Leitch in 1929. It is designated as a Category B listed building by Historic Scotland.

  • a large number of notable private homes are designated Category C(s) (some A and B category listed buildings are also private homes)
  • Statue of John Knox, New College Quadrangle, Edinburgh (New College is itself designated as a Category A listed building)
  • War Memorial to Dundee City Police, West Bell Street, Dundee

  1. ^ About Listed Buildings. heritage.co.uk.
  2. ^ Grade II* to be axed for historic buildings. Daily Telegraph.
  3. ^ The Church of England today. Church of England.
  4. ^ http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/ConBar.6869

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