An intact second world war radar station and a 1960s church that resembles an upturned boat have joined some of England’s grandest buildings on the national heritage list.
Historic England singled out 16 “remarkable historic gems” that had been added to the list or had their entries updated in 2023. They include a 400-year-old structure regarded as England’s earliest known “modern-day car wash”, an unusually long railway footbridge, an iron age cave and a Manchester primary school that still has its flashy art nouveau tiling from more than a century ago.
One aim of picking out quirky highlights is to shine a light on the diversity of the listing process. Duncan Wilson, the chief executive of Historic England, said: “We’ve examined and protected some amazing sites this year, which together give us a window into our rich and varied historic environment.”
This year 227 historic places have been added to the national heritage list for England and there have been 239 amendments. Many places go on the list without fanfare but they are remarkable in their own way, heritage experts say.
For example, the small low-cover coastal radar station at Craster in Northumberland, with its amazing views towards Dunstanburgh Castle and over the North Sea, which this year was given a Grade II listing.
Historic England said it was rare for radar stations like this one to remain intact. There are two buildings and original room fittings including a generator bed, cable ducts and evidence of power transmission.
Built in 1941, it was designed to detect and monitor the movement of German shipping and a potential invasion of Britain. It was one of a chain of radar stations along the coast and is “a physical reminder of wartime tensions and fears”, Historic England said.
The church in the shape of an upturned boat, in Fleetwood, Lancashire, is dedicated to St Nicholas, the patron saint of sailors. Built in the early 1960s, it was designed by Lawrence King, one of the leading ecclesiastical architects of the postwar period, and was meant to emphasise Fleetwood’s strong maritime connections.
As well as the upturned boat form it has unusual triangular dormer windows, which represent sails, interior trusses like the ribs of a ship and red and green port and starboard lights. It has been listed at Grade II.
The oldest place on Historic England’s list of highlights is an iron age cave in Cornwall known as a fogou, places that are associated with settlements and may have been used as places of refuge or to store food. This fogou, a rare survivor, was discovered in 1842 and first scheduled in 1970. It has had its listing amended to include newer information derived from archaeological excavations.
A place that Historic England describes as “England’s earliest known ‘modern-day car wash’” is a carriage wash near Royston, Hertfordshire, that dates to 1600. Also known as a “carriage splash”, it is one of only four such structures known in England and was a stopover in the heyday of the coaching era, a place to clean and soak a carriage’s wooden wheels.
The highlighted listings include gems that are still in use such as the Deep Pit railway footbridge in Hindley, Wigan, which dates from 1887 and is considered unusually long. Elegantly designed, it once spanned nine tracks and survives with very little alteration, Historic England said.
The bridge has been given a Grade II listing, as has Cavendish community primary school in West Didsbury, Manchester, which was built in 1904 in a Jacobean revival style by Ernest Woodhouse.
The school has many original features but the “showstoppers”, inspectors said, are halls with their “attractive green and yellow art nouveau flower-pattern tiling, and remarkable fireplaces at each end, complete with their original grates”.
The UK government’s heritage minister, Stephen Parkinson, said: “The striking range of places listed this year are a vivid demonstration of the richness and variety of our national heritage. The great work done by Historic England will ensure that they are protected for future generations to enjoy – and to learn about the fascinating people and stories connected with them.”
