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The Secretary of State for the Environment is required to compile lists of buildings of special archaeological or historic interest for the guidance of local planning authorities. Conservation policies are often based on the lists, which are being reviewed within a national resurvey programme.
The principles of selection for these lists were originally drawn up by an expert committee of architects, antiquarians and historians, and are still followed. Buildings that qualify for listing are:
(a) All buildings before 1700 which survive in anything like their original condition
(b) Most buildings between 1700 and 1840, though selection is necessary, and
(c) Between 1840 and 1914 only buildings of definite quality and character, the selection being designed to include the principal works of the principal architects. Selected buildings of 1914 to 1939 are also considered.
In choosing buildings, particular attention is paid to:
(a) Special value within certain types, either for architectural or planning reasons or as illustrating social and economic history (for instance, industrial buildings, railway stations, schools, hospitals, theatres, town halls, markets, exchanges, almshouses, prisons, lock-ups, mills).
(b) Technological innovation or virtuosity (for instance cast iron, prefabrication, or the early use of concrete).
(c) Group value, especially as examples of town planning (for instance, squares, terraces or model villages).
(d) Association with well-known characters or events.
A survey is carried out by the Department's Inspectors of Historic Buildings, for each local authority area, and buildings are classified in Grades to show their relative importance.
Grade I - These are buildings of exceptional interest.
Grade II - These are buildings of special interest, which warrant every effort being made to preserve them.
Some particularly important buildings in Grade II are classified as Grade II*.
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