English Heritage

 Listing helps us acknowledge and understand our shared history.  It marks and celebrates a building's special architectural and historic interest, and also brings it under the consideration of the planning system so that some thought will be taken about its future.

The older a building is, the more likely it is to be listed.

All buildings built before 1700 which survive in anything like their original condition are listed, as are most of those built between 1700 and 1840. The criteria become tighter with time, so that post-1945 buildings have to be exceptionally important to be listed. A building has normally to be over 30 years old to be eligible for listing.

Graph detailing the age range of listed buildings in the UK 

Categories of listed buildings

▪                Grade I buildings are of exceptional interest, sometimes considered to be internationally important; only 2.5% of listed buildings are Grade I

▪                Grade II* buildings are particularly important buildings of more than special interest; 5.5% of listed buildings are Grade II*

▪                Grade II buildings are nationally important and of special interest; 92% of all listed buildings are in this class and it is the most likely grade of listing for a home owner.

In England there are approximately 374,081 listed building entries.
(An entry can sometimes include more than one building – such as a terrace.)

There are also:

▪                19,717 scheduled ancient monuments

▪                1,601 registered historic parks and gardens

▪                9,080 conservation areas

▪                43 registered historic battlefields

▪                46 designated wrecks

▪                17 World Heritage Sites

How will listing affect me?

Listing is not a preservation order, preventing change. Listing is an identification stage where buildings are marked and celebrated as having exceptional architectural or historic special interest, before any planning stage which may decide a building's future.