Built Heritage

Halstead's Built Heritage

An interactive map shows the extent of Halstead’s conservation area and listed buildings. Conservation Area (CA) status is given in recognition of the architectural or historic interest of a location. Halstead’s CA was designated in 1969 and includes many heritage assets.  Its boundary was reviewed in 2008 and in 2023 the decision was made to carry out a full CA appraisal and,  as of November 2023,  we await its publication.

Designated heritage assets, such as listed buildings or scheduled monuments, have national recognition and are afforded a high degree of protection.

Grade I listed St Andrew’s Church is considered to be a building of exceptional interest and national significance.

Grade II* 
Five other buildings are graded as being particularly important and of 'more than special interest.'

• Trinity House,
• Holy Trinity Church,
• Townsford Mill,
• Whisper’s Wine Bar, which occupies a 15th-century Chantry,
• and Premberg House

The remaining listed buildings are Grade II and considered to be of special interest and 'warrant every effort to preserve them.'

Halstead 21st Century Group and Halstead & District Local History Society have been working on a list of all of Halstead's listed buildings. This is very much a work in progress and we would welcome any images or information you might have to add to the next version.

Many structures have local significance but are not designated. Braintree District Council (BDC) launched an assessment panel comprising representatives from local heritage groups in 2014. Overseen by officers from Place Services and Braintree District Council, its objective was to ensure that the local importance of buildings was recognised. At a Braintree District Council meeting in September 2017, the vast majority of the Courtauld built estate was approved as an initial Local Heritage List, which includes Halstead’s 16 WW2 air raid shelters and the former boiler house. We consider many other buildings to have local significance, but unfortunately, no work on the Local Heritage List has been carried out since the end of 2017.

Locally listed buildings don’t have the same level of protection, but their significance to communities should be taken into account when planning consent is being considered. 

In November 2021, Halstead 21st Century Group and Halstead & District Local History Society produced a heritage trail leaflet for Halstead. It is the first to be published for many years and the current version is considered to be something of a pilot. Printed in relatively small numbers, it's something that we will refine and build on in response to feedback from its users. It currently has a main map of sites and supplementary information.  Its aim is to introduce visitors and local people to Halstead's built heritage and entice them to discover more.