A NEW heritage survey has revealed Kirklees has the largest number of listed buildings in Yorkshire.
English Heritage has launched The National Heritage List for England, compiling thousands of the country’s protected buildings, parks, landscapes, battlefields, shipwrecks and monuments.
They cover everything from phone boxes to factories.
And it means people in Huddersfield can now go online to find out more about the region’s heritage and its protected historic places – and ones that are at risk.
The results reveal that Kirklees has 3,019 listed buildings, the most in the region followed by East Riding of Yorkshire with 2,385 which is also home to the most Grade I listed buildings.
Leeds comes in third place with 2,340 buildings closely followed by Bradford with 2,292, then Harrogate with 2,264.
Nick Bridgland, designation team leader at English Heritage, said: “For the first time the National Heritage List for England brings together everything that is designated as deserving special protection, whether it is a listed building, a scheduled monument or a registered park or garden.
“Kirklees comes out as the number one heritage hotspot for Yorkshire and is packed full of historic sites.
“From the Grade I listed Huddersfield Railway Station in St George’s Square to the scheduled mediaeval Castle Hill and the monument, designation is a mark of special interest and helps us to understand and celebrate our shared history.”
The more unusual items listed include gate posts and gate piers dating back to 1915 in Mirfield, alongside the traditional such as Huddersfield Town Hall with its extremely lavish stucco ornamentation on front of balconies. The Grade II listed former depot and workshops of Huddersfield Corporation Water Works department in Springwood and the Crimea pub, on Cross Lane at Primrose Hill also make the list. Sadly, the pub is now boarded up and looking in a forlorn state.
Overall, Yorkshire is home to 8% of England’s listed buildings.
It also has 8% of scheduled monuments, 7% registered parks and seven battlefields, all of which can be found on the list.
Available on the English Heritage website, the list not only maps where places are but in many cases gives detailed descriptions of their special architectural or historic interest.
Nationally, there are nearly 400,000 places on the list and it is added to daily.
Anyone can nominate a place to be considered for designation using the online form on the English Heritage website.
To view the complete list go to www.english-heritage.org.uk
