II*Church · listed 1951Church of St NicholasPhoto: Alistair Young · CC BY 2.0
The Golden Guinea Restaurant · Photo: Simon Cobb · CC0AHistory Grade
History of Looe · Historic England
102 listed buildings, 6 of them Grade II*
On the Historic England list, all of them stand inside Looe’s built-up area, 192 for every 10,000 residents. It also has 1 scheduled monument. 27% of its homes were built before 1919. We have photos of 9 of its listed buildings and 3 old views of the town. Looe grades A for history: #6 of 35 in Cornwall.
Listed buildings
102
192 per 10,000 residents
Grade I
0
exceptional interest
Grade II*
6
more than special interest
Scheduled monuments
1
nationally important sites
Homes built before 1919
27%
typical UK town 15%
In pictures
Looe in 12 photos and old views
Nearly every Grade I and II* building, photographed, and the town before 1950. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Church of St NicholasGrade II* listed
The Old Guildhall (Now Museum)Grade II* listed
The Cellar Wine Bar the LoftGrade II listed
Warehouse Occupied by WeldmobileGrade II listed
The Old Salutation InnGrade II listed+7See 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.
Through time
Looe from 1900 to 1945
3 old photos and postcards, in date order. All public domain, made before 1950.
1900s
1945
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 Looe’s history is
Every Grade I and II* building, monument and historic park, over the age of each neighbourhood’s homes.
Grade II*Scheduled monument
Homes built before 1919, by neighbourhoodunder 10%10–25%25–50%50%+
Hover a dot for its name; tap one with a photo to open it.
102 listed buildings by grade
0 Grade I6 Grade II*96 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 II*
The 6 Grade II* listed buildings in Looe
Particularly important buildings of more than special interest. Every one is photographed. Each opens its own page, with the official list entry.
II*Public · listed 1951Old Guildhall Museum and GaolOn the list as The Old Guildhall (Now Museum)Photo: Chris Downer · CC BY-SA 2.0
II*House · listed 1951The Golden Guinea RestaurantPhoto: Simon Cobb · CC0
II*House · listed 1951LantauPhoto: Simon Cobb · CC0
II*Inns & shops · listed 1951The Fisherman's ArmsPhoto: Jaggery · CC BY-SA 2.0
II*House · listed 1951Ye Olde CottageOn the list as Ye Old Cottage Ye Olde CottagePhoto: Robin Lucas · CC BY-SA 2.0
What’s protected
Most of Looe’s listed buildings are homes
Every listed building sorted by what its list name says it is.
Houses, terraces & villas80
Inns, shops & warehouses10
Public & civic buildings5
Churches, chapels & priories3
Walls, gates & bridges2
Street furniture1
Memorials, crosses & tombs1
80 entries (78%) are houses, terraces and villas. 3 are churches, chapels and priories.
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
96 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 96 Grade II listed buildings, A to Z
Alexandra CottageArch HouseBake CottageBlack Horse Agencies Looe BakeryBryherChubb's HouseChurch HouseChurch of St MaryChy an ColomChymor Sun CottageClifford CottageCoastguard Station Flats PeninhayCobblers CottageCobblers WayCobwallsCornish Arms CottageCosy CotDarloeDorill Cottage Quay Way Sam SuppliesEdistone Port CottageFairbank CottageFenwick's OatsFormer Butter MarketFormer Warehouse, East LooeGrand Pas CottageGregorys Looe NewesGull's CottageHighburyHillsideHomeIslander CottageJune Cottage May CottageK6 Telephone Kiosk Adjacent to North Side of Watch Tower Studio and Former Lifeboat ShedLerryn Cottage the GalleonLittle GannetLloyds Bank LimitedLooe War MemorialMarket CottageMrs Bartlett's CottageOld Malt HouseOrchard CottageOsborne HousePen BreaPenlorePetroc Ye Old Fisherman's CottagePixie CottagePorlockPortibighamPremises Occupied by Grannie's Attic Premises Occupied by RumoursPremises Occupied by Village GossipPremises of Ae Ruddy and SonQuay Walls Including ViaductRock a Bye CottageRose CottageRostallan Wenmouth CloseSherwoodShop Premises Occupied by Dowling and BaySmuggler's Hotel Smuggler's RestaurantSmugglers Cottage Ye Old CottageSpinnaker TrevarrackSt Mary's Cottage the BinnacleSurcouf Hotel and Restaurant Surfcoat Hotel and RestaurantThe Cellar Wine Bar the LoftThe CottageThe CottageThe CubbyholeThe Flower Pot the Water RailThe GaffThe GuildhallThe Jolly Sailor InnThe Leather WorkshopThe Old BarbicanThe Old HouseThe Old Salutation InnThe Old VicarageThe StudioTiree TyrinaTolva Tudor CottageTolvern HouseTrellis CottageTrenwithUp the Creek CottageVerbenaVine Cottage and Attached Coach HouseWarehouse Occupied by WeldmobileWatch Tower Studio and former Lifeboat Shed (Former Looe lifeboat house and watchtower)Weehouse Ye Old CottageWessex CottageWestward CottageWilrenaWorkshop Premises of H Hocking and Sons1 and 2, Bassett's Court1 and 2, North Road1-4, West Looe Square2, Lower Street3, Church Street
Conservation areas
1 conservation area covers 39% of Looe
Areas the council protects as a whole: demolition and changes to how buildings look need consent, and trees are protected.
Looe 197368 ha
68 hain conservation areas, of 175 ha inside the built-up area.
102 of the 102 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
More than half of Looe’s listed buildings were added in one year, 1973
The year each building now on the list was first listed.
1973 · 641951 · 191993 · 14
19501960197019801990200020102020
The first 19 entries were listed in 1951. 64 came in 1973, in the national resurvey of the 1970s and 80s. Only 1 has 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
Looe grades A for history
Protected heritage and the age of the town’s homes, against all UK towns.
Protected heritage, for its size and in all (110 points, 207 per 10,000 residents)More than 87% of UK towns
Homes built before 1919 (27%)More than 78% 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
27% of Looe’s homes were built before 1919
Every home by when it was built, from council tax records, against England & Wales (the dark tick).
23%
Before 1900
3.3%
1900–18
5.2%
1919–29
10%
1930s
6.6%
1945–54
7.7%
1955–64
10%
1965–72
14%
1973–82
7.9%
1983–92
2.5%
1993–99
2.3%
2000–08
3.7%
2009–15
3.6%
2016–25
LooeEngland & Wales
23% of homes are Victorian or older, against 16% across England and Wales. The busiest period since was 1973–82, which added 14% 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 (58 here) are left out; 1939–44 is not a period in the data.
Neighbours
Listed buildings in the places around Looe
In brief
Looe in brief
More of Looe’s homes are old than in most places: 27% were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town. All told, the list holds 102 listed buildings, including Church of St Nicholas. For its size, it has more listed heritage than 87% of UK towns. A conservation area has protected part of it since 1973.
Most entries on the list, 78%, are houses, terraces and villas. The big year was 1973, when 64 of the 102 went on the list. Beyond that, like most towns its size, it has no Grade I building; and it also has a scheduled monument.
Questions about Looe’s history
How many listed buildings are there in Looe?
Historic England lists 102 buildings inside Looe’s built-up area: 0 Grade I, 6 Grade II* and 96 Grade II.
Are there scheduled monuments in Looe?
Yes, 1 scheduled monument, including Old Guildhall.
How many conservation areas are there in Looe?
1, covering about 68 hectares of the town. The largest is Looe.
When were Looe’s buildings listed?
The first in 1951; the most, 64, in 1973.
Are there old photos of Looe?
Yes: 3 public-domain photos and postcards from 1900 to 1945, all on this page.
How old are the homes in Looe?
27% of homes were built before 1919 and 42% 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.