Listed buildings
Listed
buildings are those that have been awarded legal protection by the
Department for Culture, Media and Sport, on the basis of their
unusual quality, rarity or group value.
Not all historic buildings are listed, and even unlisted
buildings may require alterations or additions to be carried out in
a sympathetic manner.
There are over 17,000 listings in Kent. Most will
concern one single building, but this is not always the case
and there are numerous examples of a single listing covering a row
of terraced houses.
Not all listings describe buildings; a range of structures such
as telephone boxes, post boxes, monuments, milestones, bridges and
walls can be listed.
Most works on a listed building will require listed building
consent, which is usually awarded by the relevant district or
borough council, or in the Medway area, by Medway Council.
To find out more about the implications of having a building
listed, visit the English
Heritage website.
Types of listed building
Listed buildings are recorded under 3 main classes.
- Grade I buildings are of exceptional interest. 1.5% of all
listed buildings are designated Grade I (2.3% in Kent)
- Grade II* (star) buildings are particularly important buildings
of more than special interest. 4.1% of all listed buildings are
designated Grade II* (star) (5.2% in Kent)
- Grade II buildings are of special interest, warranting every
effort to preserve them. 94.5% of all listed buildings are Grade II
(91.4% in Kent).
How to view the listed buildings index
Kent County Council's Heritage Conservation Group maintains a full
copy of the listed buildings index for Kent.
This information can be viewed in the Historic
Environment Record online or in paper format, at the Centre for Kentish
Studies.