Statutory Listed Buildings

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Sileby is not blessed with many listed buildings. This is a sad reflection of attitudes to its older buildings before the interest in preservation, renovation and research took hold from the 1980s onwards. The more research done in this area, the more depressing is the picture painted. Time and time again buildings became redundant due to neglect, from outliving their useful function or from simply being in the wrong place in a village that needed space to make money from its factories and other enterprises. More often than not, the uneconomical cost of renovation was given as the reason for demolition, showing that decisions were based on quick economics and not on long term strategies. Sileby was not unique in that broad brush statement. However, the decisions of various local planning committees has ripped apart what was a good cross section of older buildings that reflected Sileby's industrial growth, it's social functions and religious establishments.

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We should only look at surrounding villages to see how Sileby has fared in the listed buildings lottery.

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Questions come to mind here. Why have so few buildings been listed in the village? Are there so few standing buildings worthy of interest? Did many 'worthy' buildings suffer destruction prior to the 1980s?

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The answers here are due to a number of factors. Local economics and the spread of modernism saw many important buildings disappear from the village landscape prior to 1980. However, there are still many worthy buildings that fit the listing criteria but have not been promoted to get that listing. Sileby mill is a good example of this: It's off the beaten track, and out of sight, out of mind.

 

Before 1980, Sileby only had two Statutory Listed buildings; the Parish Church and the Free Trade Inn. So, how much of this lacuna is the result of Sileby's reputation and unhelpful bias from 'experts'? The eminent historian W G Hoskins called Sileby 'all red brick and dreary' in 1970. Do these remarks show a bias towards preserving picturesque 'chocolate box' locations? Hoskins totally missed the point in Sileby's case, and he was not the only one. Certain buildings exemplified that special culture and development that Sileby had created and refined, and they certainly weren't nice ole worlde farms, quaint cottages or huge draughty halls!! These buildings were allowed to disappear because people didn't see their local relevance, a barb that can still be made today.

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But, with all that said, even protected status under a statutory listing can be invariably patchy. The current sad and disgraceful case of 7 King Street is a case in point. This very important local building has languished under developers that, whatever their development intentions were, have left an already dilapidated and somewhat neglected structure to fall into more disrepair. The local authority has to take some blame here having allowed the developers to call the shots. For example, parts of the curtilage wall was destroyed on the flimsiest of evidence, removing a highways issue and therefore allowing the developer's to fulfil their plans. The longer that nothing is done regarding the main house, then the greater the case for demolition comes into play due to the mounting cost of renovation (that old chestnut!). As a building guardian the local authority has got to take some responsibility for the decisions taken (or for a lack of action), and all this whilst on their watch.

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                                                                               7 King Street, Sileby : 2006 and 2020

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Locally Listed Buildings

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The definition of "A Locally Listed Building is a building, structure or feature which, whilst not listed by the Secretary of State, has been designated an important part of a settlement's heritage due to its architectural, historic or archaeological significance."  From the 1980s many structures or features not deemed for statutory preservation/listing have been designated for local listing by Charnwood Borough Council. In Sileby's case their are five properties currently locally listed for the parish. They are :

No. 238 Barrow Road

Cemetery Chapels, Cemetery Road

Brook Farm, Farmhouse and Barns, Cossington Road

Sileby Mill and Footbridge, Mountsorrel Lane

Church of St Gregory

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For more information about local and statutory listed buildings click HERE

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