Listed buildings

What is a listed building?

A building that has been identified by the Government as being of special architectural or historic interest. Buildings are added (or removed) from the list by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with the advice of Historic England.

There are three categories of listed buildings; Grade I, II* and III. Details of all buildings are held in the Pendle Listed Buildings Register and can be also be viewed on our Listed Buildings interactive map (if you double click on the star symbols on the map you can find out additional information about that particular building). All listed buildings are nationally important; the grading identifies their relative importance. Grades I and II* represent the best of the nation's built heritage and comprise only 8% of all listed buildings nationally. 

Listed Buildings in Pendle

There are currently 326 listed buildings in Pendle:

• 3 Grade I listed buildings
• 21 Grade II* 
• 302 Grade III

There are many different types of listed buildings in Pendle, from large mills to small weavers' cottages; each one worthy of protection to ensure the heritage we value remains for us to enjoy, and for future generations.

The Listed Buildings Register

The Listed Buildings Register includes a description of each building, which may refer to some, but not all, important features of a historic building. Every part of a building is listed, including the interior and any later alterations or additions. Even if a feature is not included in the description, it does not mean that it is not of interest, and it is still part of the listed building.

A National Heritage List is also available, which gives details of Listed Buildings for the whole of England.

Putting Forward a Building for Listing

If you want to put forward a building for listing, you need to make an application to Historic England. Historic England will assess the merits of the application and then make a recommendation to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) as to whether the building should be listed. The DCMS can choose to follow English Heritage's recommendation or, alternatively, take another view.

More information

More information is available from the Heritage Gateway. This site allows you to search for information on England's historic sites and buildings, and has images of listed buildings. 

What is a Scheduled Monument?

'Scheduling' is when the Government gives legal protection to nationally important site or monument by adding them to a list or 'Schedule'.

Most scheduled monuments are earthworks or unoccupied structures, often in a ruinous or semi-ruinous condition.

A scheduled monument is protected against disturbance. It is an offence to carry out works without the authority of the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, afforded through Scheduled Monument Consent.

A list of scheduled monuments is available on the National Heritage List for England website.