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Historic Buildings & Places

Championing historic buildings and places of all ages and types. We have a particular interest in everyday heritage, hidden treasures and community favourites.

Historic Buildings & Places works to sustain, defend and promote all aspects of the built historic environment, for the benefit of all. We are one of the National Amenity Societies and are unique in defending buildings and places of all ages and all types. Historic Buildings & Places is the working name of the Ancient Monuments Society.

14/10/2026

With its distinctive red brickwork, ornate Flemish-inspired gables and impressive clock tower, Earlestown Town Hall is a Victorian landmark with a story to tell.

Designed by local architect Thomas Beesley and built in 1892–93, it began life as a public hall and offices before becoming the town hall. Its assembly hall once provided space for public gatherings, while the balcony was used for announcements and election results.

Now, work is nearing completion to help secure the future of this Grade II listed building, protecting a much-loved piece of Earlestown’s history.

Everyday heritage matters. These are the buildings that help shape a town’s identity and bring its history into the present.

📷: © Sue Adair (cc-by-sa/2.0)

13/10/2026

How can a Tudor manor house become carbon neutral without compromising its historic character?

Join Historic Buildings & Places online on Tuesday 3 November, 6–7pm, for a talk with Stefan Pitman, Founder and Director of SPASE, exploring the remarkable transformation of Athelhampton House into a carbon-neutral historic building.

Athelhampton Zero combines a 130kW solar array, ground and air source heat pumps and one of the UK’s largest Tesla Powerwall installations.

Stefan will share the challenges, opportunities and lessons from this pioneering retrofit, including how renewable energy technologies were sensitively integrated into a protected historic building.

Book your place and discover what Athelhampton Zero could teach us about decarbonising historic buildings.

https://hbap.org.uk/events/hbp-online-talk-athelhampton-zero-achieving-net-zero-at-a-grade-i-listed-manor/
📅 Tuesday 3 November
🕕 6–7pm
💻 Online

12/10/2026

A building doesn't exist in isolation.

Historic England has published new research exploring how the historic setting of St Paul's Cathedral contributes to its significance.

It is a useful reminder that heritage is about more than individual buildings. Streets, views, spaces and the relationships between places can all contribute to how we understand historic environments.

Read the research and tell us: what historic view or setting matters to you?

You can read the full report on the Historic England website.

10/10/2026

Only a few tickets left!

Join Historic Buildings & Places for a special talk and tour of the spectacular Painted Hall at the Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich, on Tuesday 20 October at 3pm.

Designed by Sir James Thornhill and painted between 1707 and 1726, the Painted Hall is one of the finest Baroque interiors in Europe. Its extraordinary history includes serving as the setting for Lord Nelson’s lying-in-state in 1806 and becoming the first National Gallery of Naval Art.

Our visit will be led by Hugh Broughton Architects, who worked with Martin Ashley Architects on the major conservation project completed in 2019.

Come and discover the history, conservation and careful repair of this remarkable historic interior.

Only a few tickets remain, so book now:
https://hbap.org.uk/events/talk-and-tour-of-the-painted-hall-at-the-old-royal-naval-college-greenwich/

📷: James Brittain

09/10/2026

Good news Friday! 🚌

A 1950s bus shelter in Hillesley, Gloucestershire, designed by modernist architect Berthold Lubetkin, has been Grade II listed.

Built as part of the celebrations for the Festival of Britain, it is thought to be one of only four surviving shelters of its kind in England.

Not every important building is grand or imposing. Sometimes heritage is found in the everyday things, in the places we use every day.

Great news for this little piece of post-war history!

📷: Ray Bird / Bus Shelter, Hillesley, Gloucestershire 2014 / CC BY-SA 2.0

08/10/2026

A fascinating day exploring Swindon’s heritage and its future 🏛️

On Monday, we spent the day looking at the regeneration of the heart of Swindon, from the Railway Village to the Health Hydro and Carriage Works.

Thank you to Bob and Ian from Swindon Heritage Preservation for showing us around The Cricketers and talking to us about the different sites they care for, as well as the challenges involved in their restoration. We also visited the Railway Village Museum, which was quite the time capsule.

We heard from Swindon Borough Council about plans to retrofit the 300 Railway Village cottages and the listed building application process involved.

Thank you also to Andrea from Friends of Swindon Health Hydro for a brilliant tour of the recently restored Health Hydro, and to Fin for telling us more about the Carriage Works and the retrofit taking place there.

It was a really interesting day, bringing together heritage, regeneration and retrofit, and showing how historic places can continue to play an important role in Swindon’s future.

Thank you to everyone who shared their time and expertise with us.

07/10/2026

We’re pleased to welcome two new Trustees to the Historic Buildings & Places Board.

Martin Michette and John Robinson bring valuable experience across the historic environment, sustainability, research, finance and governance.

Martin is a lecturer and researcher on the historic environment at the University of Oxford, where his work includes architectural conservation, vernacular construction and natural building materials. As a Trustee, he will also chair our Casework Committee.

John is an experienced accountant with senior finance and governance experience across commercial and charitable organisations. He is currently Treasurer of Citizens Advice Westminster and Vice Chair of Highgate Cemetery, and will join our Finance Committee.

Their experience comes at an important time for HB&P as we continue to consider our future direction, including through our Future Lab work.

We’re delighted to have them join us and look forward to the expertise and perspectives they will bring to HB&P.

https://hbap.org.uk/news/historic-buildings-places-welcomes-two-new-trustees-to-its-board/

02/10/2026

What makes a Conservation Management Plan actually useful?

A Conservation Management Plan (CMP) can be a valuable tool for understanding what makes a historic building or place special, and for making informed decisions about its future. But where do you start, and what happens once the plan has been written?

Join us online on Monday 19 October for a practical introduction to Conservation Management Plans with Bryher Mason of Avalon Planning and Heritage.

We’ll explore:
• when a CMP is most useful
• how they are structured and delivered
• how they can be used in practice
• applying them to buildings great and small
• some handy dos and don’ts when commissioning one

Whether you’re considering a CMP or simply want to understand how they can help care for historic places, this talk is for you.

Monday 19 October 2026 | Online

Book your place https://hbap.org.uk/events/hbp-online-talk-the-principles-of-conservation-management-planning/

📷: Croft Castle, Herefordshire, National Trust

01/10/2026

Future Lab is one year old. 🎂

So, what have we learned?

A year ago, we began a three-year project with the Heritage Innovation Laboratory Oxford within the University of Oxford to explore what Historic Buildings & Places might look like in the future.

One year in, we don't have a finished answer yet. What we do have is a much better understanding of where we are, a growing body of research and evidence, and a clearer sense of the questions we need to answer.

Over the past year, Future Lab has explored everything from our purpose and business model to membership, green skills, academic publishing, events, training and our history as a learned society.

We've also been sharing the process as we go, including the questions, research, workshops, ideas and conversations that are shaping our thinking.

Now we're looking ahead to Year Two, where we'll begin testing and developing some of the ideas that have emerged.

Read our Year One update and find out what's next.

https://hbap.org.uk/future-lab-one-year-on/

30/09/2026

India Wright wins the 2026 Stephen Croad Prize

Historic Buildings & Places is delighted to announce that India Wright is the winner of the 2026 Stephen Croad Prize, awarded for her essay 'From Banqueting Houses to Bog Houses: the garden structures of the Inns of Court'.

The winner was announced on 29 September at the 2026 Historic Buildings & Places Annual Lecture.

India is a doctoral candidate at the University of Cambridge, where her research examines the architecture of the Inns of Court in the Early Modern period.

Her prize-winning essay explores the mostly temporary garden structures of the Inns of Court. These buildings were an integral part of the garden landscape and were exclusively used by the most senior members of the respective Inns. India’s essay considers the social history and hierarchy behind these structures, highlighting architectural features and spaces that can easily be overlooked.

The essay will be published in the 2027 'Journal of Historic Buildings & Places'.

The Stephen Croad Prize was established in memory of Stephen Croad, former Assistant Editor of the Society’s Transactions. The prize encourages and celebrates high-quality architectural research whilst remembering Stephen’s contribution to the Society and to the progressive study of architectural history.

Congratulations, India!

Read the full story on our website https://hbap.org.uk/india-wright-wins-the-2026-stephen-croad-prize/

Background Image: © The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence.

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