A prehistoric timber trackway, a gravestone to a war horse and the gardens where Billy Butlin opened his first holiday camp are among the more unusual historic sites protected this year.
A Roman parade ground, “acoustic mirrors” for detecting aircraft before radar and 1970s’ concrete student halls have also made it on to a list of the 20 most intriguing places given listed status in 2017, drawn up by Historic England.
In total, 1,041 historic buildings, landscapes, monuments and sites have been given protected status in the past year, the Government’s heritage agency said.
(PA Graphics)
Duncan Wilson, Historic England’s chief executive, said: “Ninety nine per cent of people in England live within a mile of a listed building or place.
“While many places on the list are well known and even world famous, we also want people to understand and enjoy the extraordinary range of history on their own doorsteps.
“These sites are irreplaceable and showcase the wonderfully distinct and diverse character of England and its people across thousands of years.”
John Glen, Heritage Minister, said: “This list showcases the sheer breadth and diversity of our heritage.
“In the year we marked the 70th anniversary of the listing scheme, I am pleased that so many important and interesting places have been protected for the nation.”
The 20 unusual places listed in 2017 are:
The Eliza Adams Lifeboat Memorial (Patricia Payne/Historic England/PA)
:: The Eliza Adams Lifeboat Memorial, Wells-next-the-Sea, Norfolk, commemorating 11 members of the Eliza Adams RNLI lifeboat crew who died in October 1880 when a large wave capsized their vessel during a rescue operation – listed Grade II
The Chrisp Street Market Clock Tower (James O. Davies/Historic England/PA)
:: Chrisp Street Market Clock Tower and The Festival Inn, Poplar, London, which forms part of England’s first pedestrianised shopping precinct at the heart of the new Lansbury estate in war-damaged east London – listed Grade II
The Skegness Esplanade and Tower Gardens (Patricia Payne/Historic England/PA)
:: Skegness Esplanade and Tower Gardens, Lincolnshire, where Billy Butlin opened his first Butlin’s holiday camp in 1936 following his success in developing amusement parks, which he began with a hoopla stall – registered Grade II
Leaf Hall, Working Men’s Institute (Historic England/PA)
:: Leaf Hall, Working Men’s Institute, Eastbourne, East Sussex, which was built in 1863-1864 and included a coffee room, lending library and reading room, smoking room, a lecture room to accommodate 200 with an orchestral gallery, and a skittle yard – listed Grade II
The Acoustic Mirrors, Fan Bay (Steven Baker/Historic England/PA)
:: Acoustic Mirrors, Fan Bay, Dover, Kent, which were used to detect distant aircraft engines before radar was developed, and are unusual for surviving as a pair and for being carved into the cliff face as opposed to being freestanding – scheduled
The Sir Thomas White Building (James Davies/Historic England/PA)
:: Sir Thomas White Building, St John’s College, Oxford, a concrete development of student accommodation built to meet the growth in numbers of university students in the 1960s – listed Grade II
The Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady and St Therese (Historic England/PA)
:: Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady and St Therese, Stroud, Gloucestershire, which has been in use as a church since 1931, and was remodelled in the 1950s, but began life as a row of Tudor cottages and was later used as a slaughterhouse – listed Grade II
The Alchester Roman Parade Ground (Historic England/PA)
:: Alchester Roman Parade Ground, Merton, Cherwell, Oxfordshire, a very rare military parade ground which would have been used for training infantry and cavalry outside the Roman town of Alchester – scheduled
The gravestone of Blackie the war horse (Alun Bull/Historic England/PA)
:: Gravestone of Blackie the war horse, Knowsley, Merseyside, who served in major First World War battles including Ypres, Arras and the Somme, and was one of the few horses who survived and were taken back to England after the war – listed Grade II
Bridge House (Steven Baker/Historic England/PA)
:: Bridge House, Condover, Shropshire, a house built by architect Mervyn Seal for his young family in 1958-1959, whose design had to overcome difficulties of the site due to its steep slope and a limited budget – listed Grade II
The Japanese Garden at Grantley Hall (Alun Bull/Historic England/PA)
:: Japanese Garden at Grantley Hall, Ripon, North Yorkshire, an area of flood plain converted into an intricate area of rocky canyons, woodland dells and water features in around 1910, when Japanese-influenced gardens were highly fashionable – registered Grade II
The Gasholder No 13 (Historic England/PA)
:: Gasholder No 13, Old Kent Road, London, which was the world’s largest gasholder when built in 1879-1881, and was built to a radical new design which proved a prototype that was widely copied across the world – listed Grade II
One of the three milestones (Steven Baker/Historic England/PA)
:: Milestones, B4073 between Painswick and Gloucester, Gloucestershire, which survive at three, five and six miles from Gloucester along the twisting up and down route which was turnpiked in 1726, turning it into a properly metalled toll road – listed Grade II
The Whipsnade Tree Cathedral (Historic England/PA)
:: Whipsnade Tree Cathedral, Dunstable, Bedfordshire, a 1930s First World War memorial landscape of trees planted in the form of a medieval cathedral, with poplars in the nave, laurels for walls and silver birch for the high altar – registered Grade II
The Dorset Martyrs memorial (James O. Davies/Historic England/PA)
:: The Dorset Martyrs memorial, Dorchester, Dorset, a sculpture by Dame Elisabeth Frink unveiled in 1986 marking the site of former gallows where Catholic martyrs were hanged in the 16th and 17th centuries for their beliefs – listed Grade II
The former Admiralty Boat House (Historic England/PA)
:: Former Admiralty Boat House, Newlyn, Cornwall, an architecturally handsome coastguard building constructed in 1901 which served as a post office for most of the 20th century and recently became home to the Newlyn Archive – listed Grade II
The Jewish Burial Ground (James O. Davies/Historic England/PA)
:: Jewish Burial Ground, Plymouth, Devon, where 256 tombstones were raised between 1740 and the 1870s, making it the third oldest surviving Jewish cemetery in the country and the earliest to survive outside London – listed Grade II
The Pembroke Studios (Nos 1-13) (Chris Redgrave/Historic England/PA)
:: Pembroke Studios (Nos 1-13), Kensington and Chelsea, London, a group of studios dating back to the 1890s, in a gabled decorative red-brick building, where artists including David Hockney have worked – Listed Grade II
A Neolithic trackway and platform (Historic England/PA)
:: Neolithic trackway and platform, Lindholme, Hatfield, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, a timber construction some 45 metres long which has been preserved in peat for more than 4,500 years and appears to have been used for ritual or community events – scheduled
The former Ice Works (Historic England/PA)
:: Former Ice Works, Newlyn, Cornwall, which opened in 1907, serving the town’s fishing fleet bring fish to markets, and which is thought to be the only ice works from the era to survive with plant and machinery intact – listed Grade II.