Designation Yearbook 2013-14 Listed2 in London: Yearbook 2010 Back to Contents Designation Yearbook 2013-142 Contents
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New highlights from the National Heritage List for England Designation Yearbook 2013-14 Listed2 in London: yearbook 2010 back to contents Designation Yearbook 2013-142 Contents Foreword . 4 Introduction . .5 The National Heritage List for England explained . 7 Introductions to Heritage Assets . 9 Casework statistics . 10. Distribution of Yearbook entries . .12 Gazetteer of designation highlights . .13 Agriculture . 14. Commemoration . .18 Commerce and Exchange . .24 Culture and Entertainment . .27 Domestic . .30 Education . 38. Gardens and Parks . .41 Health and Welfare . .44 Industrial . .47 Law and Government . .54 Maritime and Naval . .55 Military . .60 Religion and Ritual . .67 Sport and Recreation . .77 Street Furniture . .78 Transport . 80. Utilities and Communications . .84 Designation Yearbook index . .85 Acknowledgements . .90 Designation Yearbook 2013-14 back to contents 3 Foreword By Ed Vaizey MP, Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries I never fail to be inspired by the amazing heritage we have in England, and this year has been no exception . As ever, it has been another busy and successful year in heritage designation .The advice that Government receives from English Heritage on the statutory protection to the historic environment, whether concerning a listed building, scheduled monument or designated wreck site is absolutely invaluable and always of the highest quality . New sites continue to be identified and we carry on with the important work to amend and update list entries, which greatly assists in the management and protection of our heritage assets . Among my listing highlights this year is the L . Manze Eel, Pie and Mash Shop in Walthamstow (which required a personal visit from the Minister at lunch time) and the Queen Street Mill in Burnley . Some designations like Preston Bus Station are passionately debated, but I believe that we need to recognise important buildings from every decade for future generations It is one of the main aims of this Government to ensure that regulations are streamlined to help faster and more effective decisions to be made .The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act which passed through Parliament last year contains clauses that help us provide much simpler list descriptions, which specifically highlight the special interest in a building. This gives greater certainty to owners and is part of the Government’s drive to improve planning . English Heritage and my Department have now dealt with many designation cases that use the new clauses, some of which are included in this yearbook . The reform of the spot listing process has also helped English Heritage provide more strategic advice to planners, developers and organisations . A full assessment of the Midland Main Line has resulted in a number of new designations and provides Network Rail with valuable information on the special interest of the buildings and structures, as they start work on the electrification of the line in the next few years. Such projects are helpful in determining what is special and what is not at an early stage of the planning process and ensures that heritage is a central part of progress . I would like to thank all the staff at English Heritage for their hard work in maintaining the National Heritage List for England . I would also like to thank the many groups and members of the public who have helped identify heritage assets and put them forward for designation . That we have so many wonderful suggestions shows that our heritage is owned by us all . 4 back to contents Designation Yearbook 2013-144 Introduction 2013-14 has been a special year for us . It witnessed the centenary of the landmark 1913 Ancient Monuments Act, which laid the path for so much of English Heritage’s future mission . It transformed scheduling, and set out an agenda we are still pursuing: the identification and protection of nationally important heritage assets . This is our second Designation Yearbook, and once more we are very pleased to be able to show-case some of the hundreds of outcomes we have delivered in pursuit of this century-old mission . Advising the Secretary of State on his decisions about listing and scheduling continues to be one of English Heritage’s most important responsibilities, and we are proud that in over 99% of cases, our recommendations are endorsed . However, we are as aware as anyone that the designations themselves are sometimes historic documents .The sheer age of many of the entries on the National Heritage List for England (NHLE) can be an issue. Our fuller modern List entries find widespread approval, and, thanks to recent legislative change, now can carry greater weight: but how can we produce more? This past year has seen a dramatic turn-around in the sort of cases we pursue .We have doubled the percentage of strategic cases, so that over 70% of our casework now arises out of planned, thematic projects within the National Heritage Protection Plan (NHPP). Put another way, our reactive casework has halved as we streamline processes to concentrate energies on more pressing issues .Where there is a genuine threat, we will always consider issues of designation-worthiness. But being more in control of our case-flow helps us to deliver where most needed . When it comes to assessing significance in the historic environment, helping people know where they stand is one of the key services English Heritage can offer . Ours is a profoundly historic country, and many undertakings will have heritage implications . The designation base, extensive as it is, still needs maintenance if it is to reflect 21st-century appreciation. One area we have been particularly involved in flows from the upgrading the railway network. Last year we highlighted our achievements on the Great Western main line; this year we feature similar work on the Midland Mainline, to Derby .Working with Network Rail and its consultants, we helped to assess some 900 items on this historic line, and ended up listing 30 new assets . Network Rail gained clarity, and we modernised the designations along a crucial stretch of our transport infrastructure .We hope to undertake more strategic work of this type in the future . Railway proposals also resulted in one of the first additions to the Register of Battlefields since it was set up in 1995: we added the site of the Battle of Edgecote (1469), knowing that HS2, the high-speed rail project, may run across the location of this Wars of the Roses battlefield. This isn’t designation as obstruction: it’s designation as a clear articulation of historic significance – it’s the beginning of a conversation, and not the end. Designation Yearbook 2013-14 back to contents 5 We are always pleased to designate all categories of heritage asset: this year has seen more scheduling activity, more newly-designated battlefields, and further additions to Protected Wrecks and scheduled vessels . Maintaining the Register of Parks and Gardens is part of our mission too: the registration of Compton Cemetery at Grade II* is a reminder of the importance of funerary landscapes, but we know there is more to do . Increasing numbers of war memorials are becoming listed, which is most welcome: expect to see increasing numbers of these over the coming centenary years, as we start to work more closely with volunteers to address this area of designation deficit. The NHPP is really important in determining agreed priorities, and these will strongly influence the sorts of projects we undertake in the future. Heritage at Risk is a big corporate priority for us, so it is gratifying to see the extensive revisions to the scheduling at Chatterley Whitfield Colliery at Stoke-on-Trent being featured here. These were undertaken to help in finding a solution, through a more considered bestowal of national importance than blanket designation .Working with colleagues and local authorities on such cases is essential if we are to make progress on intractable (and worsening) problems . Revision of List entries can be as important as adding new items . It’s also good to remember the sheer pleasure that a new listing can bring: public reaction to the designation of the 1930s Coate diving platform at Swindon, also featured here, has been truly heartening . Today’s agenda is about presenting our entries better, about revising older ones, and about assisting local authorities in sharing information with owners and managers . Not only has what we list changed: how List entries can be used is changing too .The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 sets greater store on the force of List entries: these can now define with precision where special interest resides, and where it is absent. I wish to close by thanking all of my colleagues in the Designation Department for their hard work over the past year . Dr Roger Bowdler, Designation Director 6 back to contents Designation Yearbook 2013-14 The National Heritage List for England explained The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is the statutory record of formally designated heritage assets in this country. It is the only official and up-to-date database for important sites and structures which have been officially recognised by the Government. These include: Listed Buildings Scheduled Monuments Protected Wrecks Registered Parks and Gardens Registered Battlefields It also includes buildings which have been issued with Certificates of Immunity against Listing, or with Building Preservation Notices .The NHLE includes cultural World Heritage Sites too, which are recognised by UNESCO . The NHLE is curated by English Heritage on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and is available at http://www .english-heritage .org .uk/professional/ protection/process/national-heritage-list-for-england/ . As of 31 March 2014, there were nearly 398,000 designated assets on the NHLE .These consist of the following categories .