IChurch · listed 1964Church of St MaryPhoto: Mr Biz · CC BY-SA 2.0
Church of St Mary · Photo: Mr Biz · CC BY-SA 2.0B−History Grade
History of Oakley · Historic England
21 listed buildings, 1 of them Grade I
On the Historic England list, all of them stand inside Oakley’s built-up area, 84 for every 10,000 residents. It also has 1 scheduled monument. 8% of its homes were built before 1919. Oakley grades B− for history: #9 of 33 in Bedfordshire.
Listed buildings
21
84 per 10,000 residents
Grade I
1
exceptional interest
Grade II*
1
more than special interest
Scheduled monuments
1
nationally important sites
Homes built before 1919
8%
typical UK town 15%
In pictures
Landmarks of Oakley
Nearly every Grade I and II* building, photographed, and the town before 1950. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Photos from Wikimedia Commons and Geograph, copied to our own server, each credited to its photographer with its licence; names open the building’s page or its official list entry.
Through time
Oakley in old photos
1 old photo or postcard, in date order. All public domain, made before 1950.
Public domain, from Wikimedia Commons, copied to our own server. Each credit opens the image’s page with its full description and history.
The map
Where Oakley’s history is
Every Grade I and II* building, monument and historic park.
Grade IGrade II*Scheduled monument
Hover a dot for its name; tap one with a photo to open it.
21 listed buildings by grade
1 Grade I1 Grade II*19 Grade II
Historic England lists buildings in three grades: Grade I for buildings of exceptional interest (about 2.5% of all listed buildings), Grade II* for particularly important buildings of more than special interest (about 5.8%), and Grade II for buildings of special interest (about 91.7%). Listing protects the whole building, inside and out.
Every entry on the National Heritage List for England whose point lies inside the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary. One list entry can cover a terrace or a group of buildings.
Grade I
The Grade I listed building in Oakley
Buildings of exceptional interest, about 2.5% of all listed buildings. Every one is photographed. Each opens its own page, with the official list entry.
Grade II*
The Grade II* listed building in Oakley
Particularly important buildings of more than special interest.
House · listed 1952Oakley House
What’s protected
Most of Oakley’s listed buildings are homes
Every listed building sorted by what its list name says it is.
Houses, terraces & villas13
Public & civic buildings5
Churches, chapels & priories1
Walls, gates & bridges1
Inns, shops & warehouses1
13 entries (62%) are houses, terraces and villas. 1 are churches, chapels and priories, including 1 of the 1 Grade I buildings.
Buildings are sorted by words in each entry’s name (church, gate, inn, memorial…): the list’s open data has no building type. An entry named only by its address counts as a house.
Grade II
19 Grade II listed buildings
Most listed buildings are in this grade, which covers buildings of special interest. Open any building to read its official list entry.
All 19 Grade II listed buildings, A to Z
Barn 35 Metres to North West of College FarmhouseCoal Offices at Former Oakley Railway StationGoods Shed at Former Oakley Railway StationGrooms Cottage (Part of Former Oakley House Stables)Maze CottageMiddle FarmhouseOld School HouseOutbuilding and Wall 10 Metres West of Middle FarmQueen's College FarmhouseRectory CottageReynes CottageSt Mary's CottageThe Bedford ArmsThe Little HouseThe Mallows, (Part of Former Oakley House Stables)Yew Tree House26 and 28, High Street27-33, Station Road29, Church Lane
How the list grew
More than half of Oakley’s listed buildings were added in one year, 1987
The year each building now on the list was first listed.
1987 · 15
19501960197019801990200020102020
The first 3 entries were listed in 1952. 15 came in 1987, in the national resurvey of the 1970s and 80s. Only 0 have been added in the last 15 years.
Monuments & landscapes
Monuments, parks and gardens
Designations that overlap the town by a tenth of their area or half a hectare.
1 scheduled monument
Nationally important archaeological sites and monuments, protected by law; work on them needs consent from the Secretary of State, advised by Historic England.
History Grade
Oakley grades B− for history
Protected heritage and the age of the town’s homes, against all UK towns.
Protected heritage, for its size and in all (26 points, 104 per 10,000 residents)More than 65% of UK towns
Homes built before 1919 (8%)More than 19% of UK towns
Two measures, each ranked against every UK town of 1,000 or more, with protected heritage counting twice as much as the age of homes. Protected heritage counts each listed building by its grade (Grade I three points, II* two, II one), each scheduled monument and battlefield two, and each registered park or garden by its grade; it is ranked both per 10,000 residents and as a total, so a village with one fine church doesn’t outrank a historic city. The second measure is the share of homes built before 1919, from the Valuation Office Agency’s council tax records. History is a character grade: it describes the town and isn’t part of the overall grade.
Homes by age
8% of Oakley’s homes were built before 1919
Every home by when it was built, from council tax records, against England & Wales (the dark tick).
6.9%
Before 1900
1%
1900–18
5.9%
1919–29
3%
1930s
3%
1945–54
6.9%
1955–64
41%
1965–72
14%
1973–82
5%
1983–92
4%
1993–99
5.9%
2000–08
1%
2009–15
3%
2016–25
OakleyEngland & Wales
6.9% of homes are Victorian or older, against 16% across England and Wales. The busiest period since was 1965–72, which added 41% of today’s homes.
Valuation Office Agency, council tax stock of properties by build period, 31 March 2025, for the neighbourhoods (LSOAs) that make up the town, split by where their residents live. Homes with no recorded build period (0 here) are left out; 1939–44 is not a period in the data.
Towns its size
Oakley has the 94th most Grade I buildings of 1,326 towns its size
Places of 2,000–4,000 people outside London, by Grade I listed buildings.
Oakley1
#470 of 1,326for listed buildings per resident (84 per 10,000). Burford, Painswick and Chipping Campden lead.
93 have more. The typical town its size has 0.
Neighbours
Listed buildings in the places around Oakley
| Town | People | Listed | Grade I | History |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oakley | 2,507 | 21 | 1 | B− |
| Clapham | 4,502 | 4 | 1 | D |
| Bromham | 4,652 | 19 | 0 | C |
| Great Denham | 4,363 | 0 | 0 | D− |
| Bedford | 97,226 | 166 | 9 | B+ |
| Sharnbrook | 1,744 | 37 | 1 | A− |
| Kempston | 22,779 | 21 | 0 | C |
| Harrold | 1,668 | 41 | 1 | A |
In brief
Oakley in brief
The official list counts 21 listed buildings in Oakley, 1 of them Grade I, including Church of St Mary. Only 93 of the 1,326 towns nearest its size have more Grade I buildings. Most entries on the list, 62%, are houses, terraces and villas.
Its homes are mostly newer: 8% were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town. The big year was 1987, when 15 of the 21 went on the list. Beyond that, per resident it sits near the middle of UK towns; W. B. Stonebridge (1879) was born here before 1900; and it also has a scheduled monument.
Questions about Oakley’s history
How many listed buildings are there in Oakley?
Historic England lists 21 buildings inside Oakley’s built-up area: 1 Grade I, 1 Grade II* and 19 Grade II.
What are the Grade I listed buildings in Oakley?
One: Church of St Mary.
Are there scheduled monuments in Oakley?
Yes, 1 scheduled monument, including Oakley churchyard cross.
When were Oakley’s buildings listed?
The first in 1952; the most, 15, in 1987.
Are there old photos of Oakley?
Yes: 1 public-domain photo or postcard, all on this page.
How old are the homes in Oakley?
8% of homes were built before 1919 and 17% before 1940, from the Valuation Office Agency’s council tax records (March 2025).
© Historic England 2026. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. The National Heritage List for England is the official, up-to-date register of all nationally protected historic buildings and sites in England; check an entry on Historic England’s website before relying on it.
Sources: Historic England, National Heritage List for England (listed buildings, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, battlefields, World Heritage Sites), October 2026, inside the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary · Valuation Office Agency, Council Tax: stock of properties by build period (31 March 2025) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.