Historic environments: Listed buildings

Listed buildings in South Tyneside

South Tyneside has 4 Grade I Listings (2.05% of its listed building stock), 6 Grade II* Listings (3.08% of listed building stock) and 185 Grade II Listings (94.87% of listed building stock), illustrating the significant heritage resource of South Tyneside.

The four Grade I Listed buildings of outstanding national importance are:

  1. Church of St. Nicholas, Boldon
  2. Church of St. Paul, Jarrow
  3. Monastery of St. Paul, Jarrow
  4. The Old Town Hall, South Shields

 

  • Church of St. Nicholas
    1. Church of St. Nicholas, Boldon
  • Church of St. Paul
    2. Church of St. Paul, Jarrow


  • Monastery of St. Paul
    3. Monastery of St. Paul, Jarrow
  • Old Town Hall
    4. Old Town Hall, South Shields

Other listed buildings in South Tyneside

  • South Groyne, South Shields
  • Trow Rock Floating Platform
  • Laverick Hall farm
  • Fellgate Farmhouse and Barns
  • Downhill Farm
  • Boldon Mill
  • Whitburn Windmill
  • Cleadon Windmill (within a conservation area)
  • Souter Lighthouse
  • Hylton Grove Bridge, Follingsby Lane

How are buildings graded?

There are three grades of listed building to show their relative importance:

  • Grade I Buildings of exceptional interest (3% of all the listed buildings).
  • Grade II* Particularly important buildings of more than special interest (5% of all the listed buildings).
  • Grade II Buildings of special interest, warranting every effort to preserve them (92% of all the listed buildings).

The following are the main criteria which the Secretary of State applies as appropriate in deciding which buildings to include in the statutory lists:

  • Architectural interest, such as buildings which are of importance to the nation for the interest of their architectural design, decoration and craftsmanship; also important examples of particular building types and techniques (e.g. buildings displaying technological innovation or virtuosity) and significant plan forms.
  • 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.
  • Group value. Especially where buildings comprise an important architectural or historic unity or a fine example of planning (e.g. squares, terraces or model villages).

Age and rarity are also relevant considerations, particularly where buildings are proposed for listing on the strength of their historic interest. All buildings built before 1700 which survive in anything like their original condition are listed; and most buildings of about 1700 to 1840 are listed though some selection is necessary to identify the best examples of particular building types, and only buildings of definite quality and character are listed. After about 1840, because of the greatly increased number of buildings erected and the much larger numbers that have survived, greater selection is necessary to identify the best examples of particular building types and only buildings of definite quality and character are listed. For the same reasons only selected buildings from the period after 1914 are normally listed. Buildings which are less than 30 years old are normally listed only if they are of outstanding quality and under threat. Buildings which are under 10 years old are not listed.

In recent years the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has used a thematic approach to listed buildings identifying key examples for each range of building types, for example educational, residential, industrial etc.

The statutory lists give only brief details and a description of each building, primarily to help identification. They do not itemise all the particular features of interest. The whole of the building (interior and exterior) is subject to the listed status and protection and not just items of specific interest highlighted in the listed building description.