IPublic · listed 1970Halton CastlePhoto: Unknown photographer · Public domain
Halton Castle · Photo: Unknown photographer · Public domainC+History Grade
History of Runcorn · Historic England
60 listed buildings, 2 of them Grade I
Historic England counts them inside Runcorn’s built-up area, 9.7 for every 10,000 residents. It also has 2 scheduled monuments. 9.1% of its homes were built before 1919. We have photos of 13 of its listed buildings. Runcorn grades C+ for history: #23 of 46 in Cheshire.
Listed buildings
60
9.7 per 10,000 residents
Grade I
2
exceptional interest
Grade II*
8
more than special interest
Scheduled monuments
2
nationally important sites
Homes built before 1919
9.1%
typical UK town 15%
In pictures
Runcorn in 13 photos
Nearly every Grade I and II* building, photographed. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Remains of Norton PrioryGrade I listed
The Castle Hotel Public HouseGrade II* listed
Runcorn Town HallGrade II listed
Waterloo BridgeGrade II listed
Electricity Sub-StationGrade II listed+8See all photosPhotos 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.
The map
Where Runcorn’s history is
Every Grade I and II* building, monument and historic park, over the age of each neighbourhood’s homes.
Grade IGrade II*Scheduled monument
Homes built before 1919, by neighbourhoodunder 10%10–25%25–50%50%+
1 of 42neighbourhoods have mostly pre-1919 homes; in the oldest, 58% were built before 1919.
Hover a dot for its name; tap one with a photo to open it.
60 listed buildings by grade
2 Grade I8 Grade II*50 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. Neighbourhood dots: the population-weighted centre of each Census 2021 output area, coloured by its neighbourhood’s (LSOA’s) share of homes built before 1919 (Valuation Office Agency, March 2025).
Grade I
The 2 Grade I listed buildings in Runcorn
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.
IChurch · listed 1970Norton Priory Museum and GardensOn the list as Remains of Norton PrioryPhoto: Unknown photographer · Public domain
Grade II*
The 8 Grade II* listed buildings in Runcorn
Particularly important buildings of more than special interest. Every one is photographed.
II*Public · listed 1952Castle HotelOn the list as The Castle Hotel Public HousePhoto: Unknown photographer · Public domain
II*Church · listed 1965All Saints ChurchOn the list as Church of All SaintsPhoto: Peter I. Vardy · Public domain
II*Church · listed 1990St John the Evangelist's Church, WestonOn the list as Parish Church of St John the EvangelistPhoto: Unknown photographer · Public domain
II*Public · listed 1969Halton Old HallOn the list as The Old HallPhoto: Peter I. Vardy · Public domain
II*Public · listed 1952Chesshyre LibraryOn the list as The Parish LibraryPhoto: Unknown photographer · Public domain
II*House · listed 1952Seneschal's House, HaltonOn the list as The Seneschal's HousePhoto: Peter I. Vardy · Public domain
II*Inns & shops · listed 1970HallwoodOn the list as The Tricorn Public HousePhoto: Unknown photographer · Public domain
II*House · listed 1952Halton VicarageOn the list as The VicaragePhoto: Unknown photographer · Public domain
What’s protected
The largest group of Runcorn’s listed buildings is homes
Every listed building sorted by what its list name says it is.
Houses, terraces & villas29
Public & civic buildings11
Churches, chapels & priories7
Walls, gates & bridges6
Inns, shops & warehouses6
Memorials, crosses & tombs1
29 entries (48%) are houses, terraces and villas. 7 are churches, chapels and priories, including 1 of the 2 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
50 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 50 Grade II listed buildings, A to Z
Barn South of the Old HallBridgewater HouseBrook HouseBrookfield FarmhouseCarnegie LibraryCavendish Farm HouseChrist Church and Churchyard RailingsChurch of St MaryChurch of the Holy TrinityElectricity Sub-StationFormer Rock Farm HouseGarden Loggia in Grounds of Norton PrioryGate Piers and Surrounding Wall to LibraryHalton HouseHolly Bank HouseManor Farm HouseMarket CrossNational Westminster BankNorton LodgeNorton Water TowerPreston Brook Tunnel EntranceRed Lodge, including boundary fencing and adjacent former Norton Priory estate entrance gate piers and gatesRockfieldRuncorn Signal BoxRuncorn Town HallRuncorn War MemorialTerrace Walls Piers and Railings to St Paul's Health CentreThe ElmsThe GrangeThe LodgeThe NookThe Norton Arms Public HouseThe Old HallThe Old Number OneThe Old Police StationThe Royal HotelThe Tricorn Public HouseTrent and Mersey Canal Canal Milepost South of North Entrance to Preston Brook Tunnel at Sj 5705 7987Village FarmhouseWaterloo Bridge12, 14 and 16, Castle Road125 and 127, Main Street31, Main Street53 and 55, High Street53, Holloway58, High Street59, 61 and 63, Main Street6, 8 and 10, Castle Road71, High Street88, 90, 92 and 94, Main Street
Conservation areas
4 conservation areas cover 1.8% of Runcorn
Areas the council protects as a whole: demolition and changes to how buildings look need consent, and trees are protected.
Halton Village 197017 ha
No data available for publication by HE9 ha
Higher Runcorn 19756 ha
Weston Village 19915 ha
36 hain conservation areas, of 2,059 ha inside the built-up area.
The first, Halton Village, was designated in 1970; the newest, Weston Village, in 1991. 32 of the 60 listed buildings stand in one.
Historic England’s conservation areas layer, supplied by councils (incomplete in places, so a page fact, never graded). Hectares are the part of each area inside the built-up area.
How the list grew
22 of Runcorn’s 60 listed buildings were added in 1983
The year each building now on the list was first listed.
1983 · 221965 · 111970 · 9
19501960197019801990200020102020
The first 4 entries were listed in 1952. 22 came in 1983, in the national resurvey of the 1970s and 80s. Only 3 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.
2 scheduled monuments
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
Runcorn grades C+ for history
Protected heritage and the age of the town’s homes, against all UK towns.
Protected heritage, for its size and in all (76 points, 12 per 10,000 residents)More than 53% of UK towns
Homes built before 1919 (9.1%)More than 22% 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
9.1% of Runcorn’s homes were built before 1919
Every home by when it was built, from council tax records, against England & Wales (the dark tick).
8.2%
Before 1900
0.9%
1900–18
2.3%
1919–29
6.5%
1930s
6.6%
1945–54
5.1%
1955–64
14%
1965–72
26%
1973–82
8.1%
1983–92
5.5%
1993–99
5.8%
2000–08
3.6%
2009–15
6.7%
2016–25
RuncornEngland & Wales
8.2% of homes are Victorian or older, against 16% across England and Wales. The busiest period since was 1973–82, which added 26% 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 (8 here) are left out; 1939–44 is not a period in the data.
Born here
14 notable people born in Runcorn before 1900
Their lives on one timeline, earliest first.
John Chesshyre
Thomas Hazlehurst
William Allen Whitworth
Hall Caine
Harry Speakman
William Dudley
Samuel Houghton
Jack Fish
Joe Richardson
Thomas Alfred Jones
Martin Caine
Dick Padbury
Alfred Peacock
Ernest Shaw
1650170017501800185019001950
Hall Caine1853–1931 · British novelist and playwright (1853-1931)
Thomas Alfred Jones1880–1956 · Recipient of the Victoria Cross (1880-1956)
Thomas Hazlehurst1816–1876 · British philanthropist (1816-1876)
WW
William Allen Whitworth1840–1905 · English mathematician and cleric
MC
Martin Caine1884–1953 · American football player and coach
JC
John Chesshyre1662–1738 · English lawyer
Harry Speakman1864–1915 · Scottish rugby union footballer (1864–1915)
WD
William Dudley1868–1938 · Dudley, Sir William Edward (1868–1938), co-operative society administ…
Everyone born in Runcorn → Birthplaces from Wikidata; portraits from Wikimedia Commons.
Neighbours
Listed buildings in the places around Runcorn
In brief
Runcorn in brief
Runcorn has 60 listed buildings, 2 of them Grade I, including Halton Castle. Its older streets lie in 4 conservation areas, the first designated in 1970. Of the 14 people born here before 1900, the best known include Hall Caine (1853), Thomas Alfred Jones (1880) and Thomas Hazlehurst (1816). Its homes are mostly newer: 9.1% were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town. The rest is about typical: it has 2 Grade I buildings, about typical for a town its size (the middle one has 1); per resident it sits near the middle of UK towns; and it also has 2 scheduled monuments.
Questions about Runcorn’s history
How many listed buildings are there in Runcorn?
Historic England lists 60 buildings inside Runcorn’s built-up area: 2 Grade I, 8 Grade II* and 50 Grade II.
What are the Grade I listed buildings in Runcorn?
2, including Halton Castle and Remains of Norton Priory.
Are there scheduled monuments in Runcorn?
Yes, 2 scheduled monuments, including Augustinian Abbey known as Norton Priory and Halton Castle: a ruined shell keep castle on the site of an earlier motte and bailey.
How many conservation areas are there in Runcorn?
4, covering about 36 hectares of the town. The largest are Halton Village and No data available for publication by HE.
When were Runcorn’s buildings listed?
The first in 1952; the most, 22, in 1983.
Who was born in Runcorn?
Among people born before 1900: Hall Caine (1853), Thomas Alfred Jones (1880), Thomas Hazlehurst (1816), William Allen Whitworth (1840) and Martin Caine (1884).
How old are the homes in Runcorn?
9.1% of homes were built before 1919 and 18% 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 · Historic England conservation areas (supplied by local planning authorities; October 2026). 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.