Listed Buildings

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The statutory List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest is a national register. It contains over 500,000 listed buildings in England that have been considered worthy of statutory protection. There are a wide variety of buildings on the list including houses, barns, bridges, public buildings and churches but also many smaller structures of interest such as walls, milestones, telephone boxes, war memorials and lamp columns. It is open to anyone to ask English Heritage to consider a building for listing and further details can be found on the English Heritage website (this is an external hyperlink).

Fareham has nearly 600 listed buildings. Their age and architectural style includes survivals from 1,500 years of Fareham's history. The oldest is Portchester Castle which was built by the Romans in the third century AD and the youngest the modernist buildings of the Warsash Maritime Academy constructed in 1959.The list includes examples of a wide range of building types such as the vernacular timber framed buildings and barns prevalent until the seventeenth century, the classical town and country houses of the Georgian period, such as those of Fareham High Street, and Victorian examples such as the villas of Osborn Road, worker's cottages in the village of Hook and Fareham's impressive railway viaducts. Other listed structures include walls, gate piers, lamp columns, tombs and memorials all of which are of national interest and are an important part of the borough's heritage.

Period details such as traditional windows, historic doors, old Fareham chimney pots, ornate plasterwork, and decorative brickwork are all important to their special interest. The use of traditional materials and methods of construction such as; hand made bricks, clay roof tiles and lime mortar for pointing also contributes to the special interest of the listed buildings and to the local distinctiveness and character of the borough's historic areas.

Copies of the statutory list for Fareham are held by Fareham Borough Council and can also be viewed online at the Heritage Gateway website (this is an external hyperlink).

Why Buildings are Listed

Buildings are listed because of their;

Architectural interest:

Buildings which are nationally important for the interest of their architectural design, decoration and craftsmanship. Examples of particular building types and techniques are also of interest.

Historic interest:

This includes buildings which illustrate important aspects of the nation's social, economic, cultural or military history.

Close historical association :

With nationally important people or events; or

Group value:

Especially where buildings are part of an important architectural or historic group or are a fine example of planning (such as squares, terraces and model villages)

Age and Rarity are also considered. All buildings that survive in anything like their original condition from before 1700 are listed. Between 1700 and 1840 some selection is required after which they must possess definite quality and character. Twentieth century buildings must be of very special quality to be listed; some outstanding buildings less than 30 years old have been added if threatened. No buildings less than ten years old are included.

Grading

Listed buildings graded to reflect their importance;

• Grade I - buildings are of exceptional interest, sometimes considered to be internationally important.

• Grade II* - buildings are particularly important buildings of more than special interest.

• Grade II - buildings are nationally important and of special interest; 92% of all listed buildings are in this class.

 

Listed Building Consent

When a building is added to the statutory list, it benefits from special protection under the Planning (Conservation Areas and Listed Buildings) Act 1990. Listed building consent must be granted before it can be demolished or altered it in a way that would affect its special architectural or historic interest. The application must be made to the local planning authority who must consider, in deciding whether to give permission. Listing does not necessarily mean that alterations or additions are not possible, but it does mean they must be carefully considered and justified; sometimes the special interest of the building is such that extension or alteration is not possible.

 

Advice and Guidance

Please bear in mind that it is a criminal offence to carry out work to a listed building without consent so it is important to contact the council's Conservation Officer to check whether any proposed work is likely to require an application to be made. The council's Conservation Officer can also offer guidance concerning repairs and alterations. Historic Building Grants may be available for works of repair. Please follow the link for the guidance leaflet: 'Listed Buildings - A guide to the law and your responsibilities' (1.22 Mb) .