A listed building in the United Kingdom is a building which has been placed on the Statutory List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest. There are just under 500,000 buildings in the UK to which this applies.
A listed building may not be demolished, extended or altered without special permission from the local planning authority (who typically consult the relevant central government agency, particularly for significant alterations to the more notable listed buildings). Exemption is provided for some church buildings in current use for worship, although in such cases the church organisation operates its own permissions procedure.
For a building to be included on the list, it must be a man-made structure that survives in something at least approaching its original state. Most structures on the list are buildings, but other structures such as bridges, monuments, sculptures, war memorials, and even milestones and mileposts may also be listed. Ancient uninhabited or unmaintained structures, such as Stonehenge, are generally classified as Scheduled Ancient Monuments rather than Listed Buildings.
All buildings built before 1700 which survive in anything like their original condition are listed, as are most of those built between 1700 and 1840. The criteria become tighter with time, so that post-1945 buildings have to be exceptionally important to be listed. A building has normally to be over 30 years old to be eligible for listing.
In England and Wales, listed buildings are classified in three grades:
The following is links to the British Listed Buildings website
Click on the links below. Click on the property and this displays details, map and Street View
