Listing Grades I, II, II*
What can be Listed?
The AA box at the top of Dunmail Raise, North of Grasmere is Listed so not always what you might expect
Listed Buildings
What is a Listed Building?
Resources
Best books on Lake District vernacular are:
Vernacular Architecture of the Lake Counties - a field handbook, by RW Brunskill
(Out of print)
Same book as above but re-issued with minor changes is:
Traditional Buildings of Cumbria, by RW Brunskill
Also out of print but still obtainable is:
Traditional Buildings & Life in the Lake District, by Susan Denyer
Some buildings are Listed (many seem to have been Listed in the 1970s) for group value, some for special architectural merit, special features or extreme age.
Strangely I do come across some old buildings and structures which you might expect to be Listed but in fact are not. You can ask to have a building Listed but most owners of such buildings - in my experience at least - tend to be very wary of doing this. There are few incentives any longer to having your building Listed - i.e. no government grants towards repairs and no VAT reductions or exemptions on alterations work.
Altering Listed Buildings calls for a researched and careful approach where any existing fabric may be involved. New uses are possible but require detailed negotiation with the Authorities.
Within the National Park a good place to start is with the LDNPA website page on Listed Buildings
At the time of writing [September 2015] the LDNPA does not have a Conservation Officer, which is a mixed blessing.
-grasmere_1280.jpg "Listed barn (NT) in Grasmere altered from workshop to store and office for Grasmere Gingerbread - Click for larger image")
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An unusual conversion of the 1st Floor of a Listed Building in Ambleside to a restaurant
Alterations and additions to a complex of Listed farm buildings in Little Langdale
Alterations and additions to a complex of Listed Buildings at an independent hostel in Grasmere
Renovation of a Listed Chapel and attached cottage at Hawkshead Hill
Most properties in this area are Grade II if Listed but check for Grade II* as that has special requirements
That rare thing - a Grade II* Listed Building, in Hawkshead - the poet Wordsworth lodged here as a boy
Listed cottage in Ambleside - part of a group of properties owned by a local charitable trust
Listed cottage in Little Langdale - this was once a row of cottages and at one time the local Post Office
Listed church conversion in Ambleside. Drawn up in an afternoon, the project received a Civic Trust Commendation
Site
Under
Construction
Autumn
2015
Grade II Listed cottage at Rydal after a complete renovation including internal alterations and improvements (see own page)
Grade II Listed barn (NT) in Grasmere altered from workshop to store and offices for Grasmere Gingerbread
Renovation and internal alterations to Listed Building in Ambleside containing café for charitable trust landlord
Listed farmhouse Little Langdale with later porch addition. The stone seat is a common feature outside farmhouses
Very nice new drystone wall built in the garden of a Grade II Listed Building in Ambleside (by Dave Birkett for Paul Dixon Ltd.)
Listed cottage in Troutbeck proposals viewed from main road. Note the unusual 'crow-stepped' gables (computer rendering)
You probably ask, so what is a Grade I Listed Building?
There is one in Ambleside - The Bridge House - Grade I buildings are rare in the area - mostly castles and the like.
If your property is 'Listed' - normally Grade II unless really special - alterations will require a Listed Building Application to the National Park Authority.
Often this is IN ADDITION TO a Planning Application. The two are separate applications although there is now a combined form available.
Note there are special considerations for a Grade II* (referred to as a 'Grade 2 star' listed building.
Be VERY careful doing any work to a listed building - there is no time limit on unauthorised work and the penalties can be heavy.
Listed cottage in Troutbeck re-roofing. Very old, rough slates to be relaid in 'diminished courses' - get smaller towards the top
Everyone hopes that behind the modern fireplace there will be the opening and stone lintel from an old range - and so it often proves, as here in a Listed cottage renovation in Troubeck
William Sutherland rias riba
Chartered Architect
Director
Cluan, Rydal Road, Ambleside LA22 9BA
Tel: 015394 34489
