The Local Heritage List is a collection of heritage assets that are not protected as listed buildings or scheduled monuments but are important in terms of local distinctness. Planning applications for development submitted on places on the list receive additional scrutiny around the heritage and significance of the site and area.
People can nominate local heritage assets and areas significant to local communities and the history of North Somerset at any time. Nominations are then assessed by the council’s Heritage and Design team alongside an independent panel of heritage experts. Any eligible places are then added to the Local Heritage List at least once a year.
Nominations come from local interest groups, town and parish councils, and members of the public. A nomination can be made based on reasons including aesthetic, communal, historical or evidential value.
Sites adopted from the latest round of nominations, submitted between January and November 2024, include:
- Banwell: the Methodist Chapel; and the Old Fire Station
- Congresbury: the Methodist Church; and The Old Inn pub building, which was part of Congresbury Manor and can be dated to 1569
- Nailsea: the old library in Somerset Square
- Portishead: original fencing and decorative gates from the Portishead Power Generating Station; King’s Drain steel railway bridge built in 1905 for the Weston, Clevedon, and Portishead Light Railway; The Poacher pub, dating back to the early 17th century; the Methodist Church built in the late 1880s; Moose Hall, built as a Union Chapel in the 1840s
- Wrington: two lime kilns in Prestow Wood, evidenced to be in use in 1840, and one being the only example recorded in North Somerset with a gothic arch over the front combustion chamber
- Yatton: this rare oval Royal Mail post box on the High Street is one of only 75 in existence, an experimental batch featuring a slot for post at one end and a machine for dispensing stamps at the other.
Other additions to the list include residential properties in:
- Banwell: the Old Malt House, High Street; 20 East Street; 24-26 Castle Hill
- Clevedon: Littlemead, Walton Road
- Congresbury: Yeo Meads and Yeo Bank, High Street
- Portishead: The Saltings, Woodlands Road; Avon View, West Hill; Nore Lodge, Nore Road; and Down House, Down Road.
John Crockford-Hawley, Heritage and Regeneration Champion, from North Somerset Council, said: “A Local Heritage List is a way for communities to celebrate the unique history that makes an area special. It’s therefore vital that people continue to use their voice to help us identify key sites that require protection. It’s so encouraging to know that we now have more than 60 entries on the list. I encourage people to send in their nominations now for other places they feel should be added.”
Created in 2021 as part of Weston-super-Mare’s Heritage Action Zone programme, the development of a local listing programme in North Somerset was supported by Historic England.
There are now 65 assets on North Somerset’s Local Heritage List. The first round contained 14 properties. A further 30 properties were added after subsequent rounds in 2022 and 2023. The World War II anti-aircraft battery in Sheepway, Portishead, was added to the Local List in 2022 but has since been removed as it has now been designated as a national scheduled monument.
Locally listed assets can be a building, structure, or feature which, while not listed by the Secretary of State, is deemed by the council to be an important part of the county’s heritage, due to its architectural, historic, or archaeological significance.
More information on North Somerset’s Local Heritage List, and a useful guide on how to nominate sites or buildings, is available on the council’s website at www.n-somerset.gov.uk/localheritagelist.
A map of places already adopted, with details on their history and the reasons for their inclusion, can be found on the Know Your Place website.
Pictured: the Old Inn, Congresbury.