There are over 2500 listed buildings in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. A

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

is one considered to be of special architectural, historical or cultural significance, which is protected from being demolished, extended or altered, unless special permission is granted by the relevant planning authorities. Of these buildings, 27 are classified as Grade I (buildings of outstanding architectural or historic interest) and 85 are classified as Grade II (particularly significant buildings of more than local interest). The remainder are classified as Grade II. The city has been described by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

as England's finest Victorian City. The wide range and depth of architectural styles represented in Liverpool had been recognised by UNESCO, with six areas throughout the city centre being designated as a

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

in 2004. The areas, collectively known as the Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City were added in recognition of the city's role in the development of International trade and docking technology. However, this designation was revoked in July 2021, following developments to the northern docks of the site in the

Liverpool Waters Liverpool Waters is a large scale £5.5bn development that has been proposed by the Peel Group in the Vauxhall area of Liverpool, Merseyside, England. The development will make use of a series of presently derelict dock spaces at Central Docks ...

project. Due to the way in which buildings are listed by English Heritage and due to the large number of buildings within the city, they have been subdivided in Grade I, II* and II buildings lists, with the Grade II buildings being further split up by postcode. __TOC__

Listed buildings in the United Kingdom

Within the United Kingdom, a listed building is a building or structure that is of special architectural, historical or cultural significance. Listed building status is used widely in the country to protect historic sites and has been applied to around half a million buildings. A listed building may not be demolished, extended or altered without special permission from the local planning authority (who typically consult the relevant central government agency, particularly for significant alterations to the more notable listed buildings). Although most structures appearing on the lists are buildings, other structures such as

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, his ...

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

war memorials A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...

, and even milestones and mileposts may also be listed. Ancient, military and uninhabited structures (such as

Stonehenge Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, west of Amesbury. It consists of an outer ring of vertical sarsen standing stones, each around high, wide, and weighing around 25 tons, topped by connectin ...

) are sometimes instead classified as

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

s and protected by much older legislation whilst cultural landscapes such as parks and gardens are currently "listed" on a non-statutory basis.

Architecture of Liverpool

Liverpool has a wide variety of

architectural style An architectural style is a set of characteristics and features that make a building or other structure notable or historically identifiable. It is a sub-class of style in the visual arts generally, and most styles in architecture relate closely ...

s represented within the city, dating from as far back as the 13th century, right up to modern contemporary styles.Hughes (1999), p11 Much of the urban fabric of Liverpool that exists today dates from the last 200 years, the period during which the city developed into a major port city within the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

.Hughes (1999), p10 There are over 2,500 listed buildings in Liverpool (of which 27 are Grade I listed and 85 are Grade II* listed). The city also has a greater number of public sculptures than any other location in the

aside from

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

and more Georgian houses than the city of

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

. This richness of architecture has subsequently seen Liverpool described by

, as England's finest Victorian city. The value of Liverpool's architecture and design was recognised in 2004, when several areas throughout the city were declared a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

. Known as the Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City, the sites were added in recognition of the city's role in the development of

International trade International trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories because there is a need or want of goods or services. (see: World economy) In most countries, such trade represents a significant ...

and docking technology. The status was revoked in July 2021.

References

{{Liverpool related articles B Liverpool-related lists