IInns & shops · listed 1949The Royal HotelPhoto: Philip Halling · CC BY-SA 2.0
The Royal Hotel · Photo: Philip Halling · CC BY-SA 2.0AHistory Grade
History of Bideford · Historic England
253 listed buildings, 1 of them Grade I
Historic England counts them inside Bideford’s built-up area, 130 for every 10,000 residents. 242 of Bideford’s listed buildings are Grade II. 24% of its homes were built before 1919. We have photos of 12 of its listed buildings and 3 old views of the town. Bideford grades A for history: #13 of 47 in Devon.
Listed buildings
253
130 per 10,000 residents
Grade I
1
exceptional interest
Grade II*
10
more than special interest
Scheduled monuments
0
nationally important sites
Homes built before 1919
24%
typical UK town 15%
In pictures
Bideford in 15 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 MaryGrade II* listed
Old FordGrade II* listed
Conservative ClubGrade II listed
Quay HouseGrade II listed
Methodist Church Including Schoolrooms and HallGrade II listed+10See 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
Bideford from 1850 to 1920
3 old photos and postcards, in date order. All public domain, made before 1950.
c. 1850
c. 1894
c. 1920Public 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 Bideford’s history is
Every Grade I and II* building, monument and historic park, over the age of each neighbourhood’s homes.
Grade IGrade II*
Homes built before 1919, by neighbourhoodunder 10%10–25%25–50%50%+
1 of 10neighbourhoods have mostly pre-1919 homes; in the oldest, 76% were built before 1919.
Hover a dot for its name; tap one with a photo to open it.
253 listed buildings by grade
1 Grade I10 Grade II*242 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 Grade I listed building in Bideford
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 10 Grade II* listed buildings in Bideford
Particularly important buildings of more than special interest. 8 are photographed.
II*Church · listed 1949Church of St MaryPhoto: Roger A Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0
II*House · listed 1949Old FordPhoto: Brian Westlake · CC BY-SA 2.0
II*Church · listed 1993Lavington United Reformed ChurchPhoto: Derek Harper · CC BY-SA 2.0
II*Walls & gates · listed 1949Masonic Hall, Caretaker's House at Rear and Garden Walls at Left and RearPhoto: Eirian Evans · CC BY-SA 2.0
II*Street furniture · listed 1949Nos 28 and 28A Including Pump and Milestone in CourtyardPhoto: Simon Cobb · CC0
II*House · listed 194927, Bridgeland StreetPhoto: Simon Cobb · CC0
II*House · listed 199231, Bridgeland StreetPhoto: Simon Cobb · CC0
II*House · listed 19494 and 4A, Bridgeland StreetPhoto: Simon Cobb · CC0
Public · listed 1974Northdown Hall (Part of Stella Maris School)
House · listed 194974 and 74A, High Street
Historic streets
High Street has the most listed buildings
Streets by the listed entries with an address on them. One entry can be a whole terrace, so long rows count once.
High Street32 listed · 1 II*
Bridgeland Street19 listed · 3 II*
Buttgarden Street12 listed
Mill Street10 listed
Grenville Street7 listed
The Strand6 listed
Allhalland Street5 listed
Honestone Street5 listed
Lower Meddon Street5 listed
Market Place5 listed
Meddon Street5 listed
Church Walk4 listed
Of the 253 entries, 145 are named by a street address; the rest are named buildings such as churches, halls and bridges.
What’s protected
Most of Bideford’s listed buildings are homes
Every listed building sorted by what its list name says it is.
Houses, terraces & villas190
Inns, shops & warehouses22
Walls, gates & bridges17
Public & civic buildings11
Churches, chapels & priories6
Street furniture5
Memorials, crosses & tombs2
190 entries (75%) are houses, terraces and villas. 6 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
242 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.
The first 150 of 242 Grade II listed buildings, A to Z
Appledore InnBank HouseBethel Free Church Including Number 12Bideford Arts CentreBideford War Memorial CrossBideford and District Angling Club, Attached Walls and GatepiersBlackmore's DepositoryBlacksmiths Arms Public HouseBollard Set Into Corner of 1 High Street Adjoining the QuayBonded Store and Bond CottageBridge BuildingsBurscott House and Adjoining ShopCarriage ShedChudleigh FortChurch of St PeterClark Memorial Tablet Attached to North East Corner of Church of St MaryConservative ClubEntrance Range to Bideford and Torridge HospitalFairlea Including Gatepiers at East End and Garden WallFolly in Garden Approximately 12 Metres South of Rosemullion (Not Included)Ford HouseFormer Stables About 20 Metres North West of Moreton (Now Part of Grenville College)Front Wall with Railings to Bideford and Torridge HospitalGates and Gatepiers at Main Entrance to Victoria ParkGlen CottagesGlenburnieGolden Hinde Public HouseHampton TerraceHeavitree ArmsIffieldJubilee HouseK6 Telephone Kiosk to South of Raised Walk in Front of Victoria TerraceKent Headstone Approximately 16 Metres South West of South Aisle of Church of St MaryKings Arms Public House Including Barn at RearKingsley HouseLiberal ClubLloyds BankMain Building, Bideford and Torridge HospitalMarket HouseMerchant HouseMethodist Church Including Schoolrooms and HallMidland BankMilestone Opposite Ship on Launch Public House (Not Included)Moreton (Now Part of Grenville College)Moreton CottageNational Westminster Bank Including Bank ChambersNew Inn HotelNo 1 Including Attached Gatepier to ChurchyardNo 10 Including the Old Tobacco House to LeftNo 12 and Attached Front Garden Wall and RailingNo 20 Including Rear BuildingNo 32 Including Rear WingNo 9 and Attached Front Railing and GatepostsNos 11 and 12 Including Workshop at RearNos 18 and 19 and Attached Front Area Railings and Gate to No 18Nos 4 and 5 Including Building to Rear of No 4Nos 43-47 Including Front Walls, Railings and Gate to Right Hand End of No 47Nos 5-9 (Consecutive) Including Iron Railings Along Inner Edge of PavementNos 82-94 Moreton Cottages Including Front Garden Wall and Gate PiersNumber 1 Cooper Street and Numbers 53, 54 and 55 Mill StreetOlive FarmhouseOrchard Hill HousePatch and Parrot Public HousePine Coffin Bust in Public Garden Adjoining South East Abutment of Bideford BridgePosting HouseProspect PlaceProvidence House Including Front Garden WallQuay HouseRose of TorridgeRosehillRoyal Mail Public House (Part)Royal Mail Public House (Part)Sewer Ventilation Pipe Adjoining North West Corner of 1-1A Barnstaple Street (Not Included)Sewer Ventilation Pipe Opposite Entrance to Torrington LaneSewer Ventilation Pipe on Street Corner Adjacent to No 13 (Not Included)Silvester HouseSloops RestaurantSpringfield TerraceSt DavidsSt Mary's Churchyard 4 Walls Including Gates and Railings on North and South SidesStatue of Charles KingsleyStrand House Including Front Area Railings and Rear Curtilage WallSwan InnTalbot InnTanton's HotelThe Folly Including Boundary Walls on North and South SidesThe Gannet Public HouseThe Hindles and Attached Front Garden Wall and RailingThe Old Custom HouseThe Red HouseTorridge HouseTorridge InnTorridge Lodge Including Gate Piers and Front Boundary WallTower HouseTown Hall and Public LibraryTwinaway BungalowWarmington's GarageWhite Hart Public HouseWoodaWoodvilleYork House (Part of Stella Maris School)1 Grenville Street1 and 2, Chapel Street1, 2 and 2A, Market Place1, Bull Hill1, Honestone Street1-4 Causeway House1-5 Victoria Terrace Including Raised Pavement and Railing10 and 11, Allhalland Street10, High Street109 and 111, Meddon Street11 and 12, Buttgarden Street11, Bridge Street11, Bridgeland Street11-14, Silver Street12, Allhalland Street12, Market Place13 and 13A, Buttgarden Street13 and 14, Market Place13, 14 and 15, High Street13, Bridgeland Street13A, 14 and 14A, Bridgeland Street14, Buttgarden Street14, Lower Meddon Street14, Torrington Street15 and 16, Lower Meddon Street15 and 16, The Strand15-18, Allhalland Street16 and 17, Market Place16 and 17, Torrington Street16, 17 and 18, North Road16, Bridgeland Street16, Buttgarden Street17 and 18, Barnstaple Street17 and 18, The Strand17 and 19, Meddon Street17, Bridgeland Street17, Buttgarden Street18 and 18A, Bridgeland Street18 and 19, The Quay18, Buttgarden Street18, Market Place19 and 20, Bridgeland Street19 and 20, Mill Street19, Buttgarden Street19, High Street19, The Strand2 and 4, Honestone Street2, 3 and 4, Church Walk2, 3 and 4, The Quay
Conservation areas
3 conservation areas cover 6.6% of Bideford
Areas the council protects as a whole: demolition and changes to how buildings look need consent, and trees are protected.
Bideford 197227 ha
Bideford East6 ha
Bideford (Clovelly Road)1 ha
33 hain conservation areas, of 502 ha inside the built-up area.
230 of the 253 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
112 of Bideford’s 253 listed buildings were added in 1973
The year each building now on the list was first listed.
1973 · 1121993 · 941949 · 26
19501960197019801990200020102020
The first 26 entries were listed in 1949, 1 of the 1 Grade I buildings among them. 112 came in 1973, in the national resurvey of the 1970s and 80s. Only 2 have been added in the last 15 years.
History Grade
Bideford 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 (265 points, 136 per 10,000 residents)More than 87% of UK towns
Homes built before 1919 (24%)More than 71% 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
24% of Bideford’s homes were built before 1919
Every home by when it was built, from council tax records, against England & Wales (the dark tick).
20%
Before 1900
3.5%
1900–18
3.3%
1919–29
5.5%
1930s
4.3%
1945–54
5.1%
1955–64
10%
1965–72
7.1%
1973–82
6.7%
1983–92
6.2%
1993–99
11%
2000–08
10%
2009–15
5.7%
2016–25
BidefordEngland & Wales
20% of homes are Victorian or older, against 16% across England and Wales. The busiest period since was 2000–08, which added 11% 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 (63 here) are left out; 1939–44 is not a period in the data.
Born here
16 notable people born in Bideford before 1900
Their lives on one timeline, earliest first.
John Arundell
Richard Grenville
Richard Vines
Elizabeth Pepys
John Shebbeare
Richard Mudge
John Christmas
Montague Edward Smith
Bedford Pim
John Cory
Edgar Dewdney
Frank D. Baker
Francis Curteis
George Braund
Bert Way
Judith Ackland
1500165018001950
Richard Grenville1542–1591 · English politician, soldier and explorer (1542-1591)
RM
Richard Mudge1718–1763 · English composer
Bedford Pim1826–1886 · English naval officer and barrister
Edgar Dewdney1835–1916 · Canadian politician (1835-1916)
John Shebbeare1709–1788 · British satirist; author of the 'Four letters to the people of Englan…
FC
Francis Curteis1856–1928 · Cricketer (1856-1928)
Elizabeth Pepys1640–1669 · Spouse of Samuel Pepys (1640 - 1669)
John Christmas1757–1822 · English-born Danish sea captain and general trader (1757–1822)
Everyone born in Bideford → Birthplaces from Wikidata; portraits from Wikimedia Commons.
Towns its size
Bideford has the 106th most Grade I buildings of 483 towns its size
Places of 12,000–31,000 people outside London, by Grade I listed buildings.
Bideford1
#37 of 483for listed buildings per resident (130 per 10,000). Bridport, Whitby and Lewes lead.
105 have more. The typical town its size has 0.
Neighbours
Listed buildings in the places around Bideford
| Town | People | Listed | Grade I | History |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bideford | 19,493 | 253 | 1 | A |
| Northam | 5,191 | 33 | 1 | B+ |
| Westward Ho! | 3,468 | 1 | 0 | D |
| Appledore | 1,711 | 116 | 0 | A+ |
| Fremington | 5,229 | 29 | 0 | C+ |
| Great Torrington | 5,958 | 90 | 0 | A |
| Chivenor and Wrafton | 1,953 | 6 | 0 | C− |
| Bickington | 2,105 | 6 | 0 | C− |
In brief
Bideford in brief
Old houses are part of Bideford’s character: 24% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town. In all there are 253 listed buildings, 1 of them Grade I, including The Royal Hotel. Per resident, it has more listed heritage than 87% of UK towns. Only 105 of the 483 towns nearest its size have more Grade I buildings.
On High Street alone there are 32 listed buildings. Its older streets lie in 3 conservation areas, the first designated in 1972. Of the whole list, 75% are houses, terraces and villas.
Questions about Bideford’s history
How many listed buildings are there in Bideford?
Historic England lists 253 buildings inside Bideford’s built-up area: 1 Grade I, 10 Grade II* and 242 Grade II.
What are the Grade I listed buildings in Bideford?
One: The Royal Hotel.
Which street in Bideford has the most listed buildings?
High Street (32), Bridgeland Street (19) and Buttgarden Street (12) have the most listed entries named by an address. One entry can be a whole terrace.
How many conservation areas are there in Bideford?
3, covering about 33 hectares of the town. The largest are Bideford and Bideford East.
When were Bideford’s buildings listed?
The first in 1949; the most, 112, in 1973.
Are there old photos of Bideford?
Yes: 3 public-domain photos and postcards from 1850 to 1920, all on this page.
Who was born in Bideford?
Among people born before 1900: Richard Grenville (1542), Richard Mudge (1718), Bedford Pim (1826), Edgar Dewdney (1835) and John Shebbeare (1709).
How old are the homes in Bideford?
24% of homes were built before 1919 and 33% 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.