Historic and Built Heritage
Limestone Landscapes has a rich human heritage stretching from distant prehistoric times to the 20th century and contains a wealth of historic sites from prehistoric crop marks, bronze age ritual sites, and medieval settlements with rig and furrow field systems, through to later industrial remains and World War II coastal defences.
Twenty-Five sites have been designated as scheduled monuments due to their national importance. These include prehistoric burial mounds such as Copt Hill, deserted medieval villages such as Sheraton and the structures of our more recent industrial and military past such as the monumental colliery winding engine tower at Haswell. There are also a large number of listed buildings and structures with features representing all periods of the area’s long and varied history.Together they are a unique inheritance that tells the story of many generations of human endeavour and, indeed, they provide the only record for millennia during which we have no written history. They also create a unique sense of time and place in the landscape, adding greatly to the distinctiveness of both our towns and our countryside.
The Limestone Landscapes – Historic Environment Audit and Action Plan can be downloaded from the publications page.
