Heritage Hub - Conservation websites

A few links are placed here which are the most commonly requested items.

Historic England

About listed buildings, why they are listed and how to propose a building for listing. The criteria for selection are available on the Historic England website and are now illustrated.

There is some useful information and advice relating to windows within this document.

Listed Buildings

The National Heritage List for England is a searchable database of all nationally designated heritage assets including Listed Buildings, Scheduled Monuments, Registered Parks and Gardens, Registered Battlefields and Protected Wreck Sites.

Images of England is a 'point in time' photographic library of England's Listed Buildings, recorded at the turn of the 21st century.

The Heritage Gateway allows you to cross-search 49 resources.

The link here is to a publication from English Heritage offering advice on how to improve the thermal efficiency of older properties (PDF) [1MB] (opens in new tab) . There is more detailed information on this subject in this Brochure (PDF) [3MB] (opens in new tab)  which contains advice as to how to improve the thermal performance of historic buildings.

Assessing Heritage Significance

As part of applications affecting listed buildings there is an expectation to receive a Statement of Significance or Heritage Statement which should assess the heritage value of the asset (listed building or ancient monument and their settings) and quantify how the proposal will impact upon this value. This is set out in the  National Planning Policy Framework (PDF) [869KB] (opens in new tab) - Para 128.-

In determining applications, local planning authorities should require an applicant to describe the significance of any heritage assets affected, including any contribution made by their setting. The level of detail should be proportionate to the assets' importance and no more than is sufficient to understand the potential impact of the proposal on their significance. As a minimum the relevant historic environment record should have been consulted and the heritage assets assessed using appropriate expertise where necessary. Where a site on which development is proposed includes or has the potential to include heritage assets with archaeological interest, local planning authorities should require developers to submit an appropriate desk-based assessment and, where necessary, a field evaluation.

Historic England has produced this useful document - Conservation Principles, Policies and Guidance.

In addition The Prince's Trust for regeneration has advice for setting out a management plan. This can be adapted as the basis for a statement of significance. There is also a useful toolkit for heritage assets.

Devon Based Groups

Devonshire Association

There are groups which promote 'all things Devon' and the Devonshire Association has an extensive archive contained within the Transactions.  The indexes can be searched online and some volumes are able to be viewed online through a link on this site.

Devon History Society

The Devon History Society aims to promote the advancement of the study of history within Devon. The society has such a comprehensive list of links to useful websites. It is a very active site with many interesting articles.

Genuki

Genuki contains some basic parish information and links to contact parish clerks directly if more information is required. Another long running publication which has a comprehensive back catalogue is Devon and Cornwall Notes and Queries. An index is available through the Genuki website and another through the Devon History Society page.

Devon Buildings Group

Devon Buildings Group was established in 1986. Its aim is to encourage awareness of all aspects of the wealth of historic buildings in Devon and to take an active part in their preservation.

Beaford Archive

Beaford Archive is an online source of photos both old and not so old! which show local parishes, people and property.

Explore North Devon

 website has collections compiled by contributors. They are mainly scanned images of photographs, documents, pictures and objects, plus sound or video clips.

Other Sources of Information

Historic Buildings in the British Isles

Historic Buildings in the British Isles is an online resource for people wishing to research building types and offers many more useful links.

National Archives and Local Records

For further research the National Archives have an online search of documents that are held in the archives. The site allows you to specify which archive and the nearest to Torridge is the North Devon Record Office in Barnstaple.

Cob and Earth Construction

The Devon Earth Building Group website contains very useful downloadable leaflets about cob and appropriate finishes for earth buildings.

Thatch in Devon

A useful guide to the use of thatch in Devon (PDF) [522KB] (opens in new tab) .