image for illustration: Bude Storm Tower by Nilfanion, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
Historic England are looking back over 2025 and celebrating 19 unusual historic buildings and places that have been granted protection in England over the past year.
Historic England writes:
We are looking back over 2025 and celebrating 19 unusual historic buildings and places that have been granted protection in England over the past year. The sites highlighted this year range from a Neolithic burial mound dating to 3400 BC in the Yorkshire Dales to an exceptionally rare shipwreck lost in 1903 known as the Pin Wreck in Dorset.
This year ‘Dragon’s Teeth’ Second World War anti-tank defences in Surrey have been protected, as well as rare dockside equipment in Greenwich linked to major technological advances in undersea telecommunications which laid the foundations for today’s subsea optical cables that transmit internet traffic worldwide.
Other highlights include:
- A rare working smock mill in Kent
- A Neolithic burial site in the Yorkshire Dales
- A distinctive tower in Cornwall known as ‘the pepperpot’
- A well-preserved historic shop in Cambridgeshire, which was a specialist in Norwegian ice skates
- A visionary university building in Manchester
- Three cast-iron guideposts in Cheshire
- A beautifully designed school for girls in Birmingham
Heritage Minister Baroness Twycross [said] ‘Britain’s heritage is as varied as it is brilliant, with each of these buildings playing a part in shaping our national story over the centuries. This year alone we have protected 199 heritage sites, from neolithic cairns in the Yorkshire Dales to the fabulous Catholic Cathedrals in the heart of Liverpool. I’m proud that we’re safeguarding our rich history so future generations can continue to enjoy it.’
Claudia Kenyatta and Emma Squire, Co-CEOs Historic England [said] ‘These newly protected places demonstrate the remarkable diversity of England’s heritage. They connect us to the people and events that shaped our communities. From ancient burial sites to shipwrecks and wartime defences to post-modernist buildings, street furniture and Arts and Crafts gardens, these sites reveal the fascinating history that surrounds us all.’
Additions to the List in 2025
- Listing: 173
- Scheduled Monuments: 21
- Parks and Gardens: 5
- Total: 199 sites
- A further 129 amendments were made to existing listings.
