IHouse · listed 1962Shed Number 78 the Boat Store Building Number 78Photo: Clem Rutter, Rochester, Kent · CC BY 3.0
Garrison Point Fort · Photo: Clem Rutter, Rochester Kent · CC BY-SA 3.0AHistory Grade
History of Sheerness · Historic England
Sheerness: 50% of homes built before 1919
Against 15% in the typical town, Sheerness has 3 times the share. Historic England lists 51 buildings inside Sheerness’s built-up area, 38 for every 10,000 residents. It also has 3 scheduled monuments. We have photos of 9 of its listed buildings and 1 old view of the town. Sheerness grades A for history: #18 of 87 in Kent.
Listed buildings
51
38 per 10,000 residents
Grade I
1
exceptional interest
Grade II*
8
more than special interest
Scheduled monuments
3
nationally important sites
Homes built before 1919
50%
typical UK town 15%
In pictures
Sheerness in 13 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.
Remains of Windmill in Grounds of Seaview HotelGrade II listed
Grotto Shaped Folly to North East of Ship on Shore Public HouseGrade II listed
Sheerness defencesScheduled monument
Roman Catholic Church of St Henry and St ElizabethGrade II listed
North Gate HouseGrade 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.
Through time
Sheerness from 1803 to 1850
An old map and 1 old photo or postcard, in date order. All public domain, made before 1950.
1803
c. 1850Public 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 Sheerness’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%+
5 of 8neighbourhoods have mostly pre-1919 homes; in the oldest, 93% were built before 1919.
Hover a dot for its name; tap one with a photo to open it.
51 listed buildings by grade
1 Grade I8 Grade II*42 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 Sheerness
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 8 Grade II* listed buildings in Sheerness
Particularly important buildings of more than special interest. 3 are photographed.
II*Walls & gates · listed 1966Former Royal Dockyard Church and Attached Wall and RailingsPhoto: Penny Mayes · CC BY-SA 2.0
II*Street furniture · listed 1977Numbers 1 to 15 and Attached RailingsPhoto: Pam Fray · CC BY-SA 2.0
II*Walls & gates · listed 1977Numbers 1 to 8 Attached Basement Railings, Walls, Coach House and StablesPhoto: Chris Whippet · CC BY-SA 2.0
House · listed 1968Archway House Building Number 23
House · listed 1994Former North Saw Pits Building Number 84
House · listed 1999Former Working Mast House Building Number 26
House · listed 1977Medway Ports Authority Offices (Dockyard House)
Walls & gates · listed 1977Walls and Gates of the Boat Basin, Docks Number 4 5 and Slipway
What’s protected
The largest group of Sheerness’s listed buildings is homes
Every listed building sorted by what its list name says it is.
Houses, terraces & villas25
Walls, gates & bridges10
Memorials, crosses & tombs5
Public & civic buildings4
Inns, shops & warehouses3
Street furniture2
Churches, chapels & priories2
25 entries (49%) are houses, terraces and villas. 2 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
42 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 42 Grade II listed buildings, A to Z
A G Smith and Sons DepositoryBanks TerraceBeach HouseBethel Chapel Sunday SchoolBoundary Wall Extends from Main Gate Round South and East Sides of Former DockyardBoundary Walls Extends from Main Gate Along North and North East SideBuilding Number 86Cheyney House the Rock HouseClock TowerDockyard Cottage and Attached Garden Wall and Basemnet RailingsFormer County CourtFormer Military HospitalFormer Pay Office Building Number 104Former Sawmill, Building Numbers 105, 106 and 107Former Stables to Rear of Dockyard CottageGarrison Point FortGrotto Shaped Folly to North East of Ship on Shore Public HouseKing William Lion Monument to West of Medway Port Authority OfficesMemorial to Thomas Stuteley in Holy Trinity ChurchyardNeptune TerraceNorth Gate HouseOutbuilding to Rear of the Royal Fountain HotelParish Church of the Holy TrinityRailings to South Side of Green to East of Naval TerraceRed Lion Public HouseRemains of Cornmill to Rear of Number 111Remains of Windmill in Grounds of Seaview HotelRoman Catholic Church of St Henry and St ElizabethSheerness War MemorialSouth Gate HouseStable Block to South West of Number 124The Royal Fountain HotelWall Extending Approximately 70 Metres Enclosing Garden to South of Dockyard HouseWall Extending Approximately 85 Metres Enclosing Garden to North of Numbers 1 to 151-23, The Broadway3, Union Street4-22, The Broadway41, High Street53, High Street6-10, Rose Street95, High Street97, High Street
Conservation areas
3 conservation areas cover 2.7% of Sheerness
Areas the council protects as a whole: demolition and changes to how buildings look need consent, and trees are protected.
Sheerness Mile Town 19766 ha
Sheerness Dockyard 19723 ha
Sheernes Marine Town 19762 ha
12 hain conservation areas, of 433 ha inside the built-up area.
The first, Sheerness Dockyard, was designated in 1972; the newest, Sheernes Marine Town, in 1976. 21 of the 51 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
21 of Sheerness’s 51 listed buildings were added in 1978
The year each building now on the list was first listed.
1978 · 211977 · 15
19501960197019801990200020102020
The first 3 entries were listed in 1950. 21 came in 1978, 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.
3 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
Sheerness 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 (67 points, 51 per 10,000 residents)More than 67% of UK towns
Homes built before 1919 (50%)More than 98% 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
50% of Sheerness’s homes were built before 1919
Every home by when it was built, from council tax records, against England & Wales (the dark tick).
40%
Before 1900
10%
1900–18
8.2%
1919–29
6%
1930s
8.7%
1945–54
6.7%
1955–64
5.5%
1965–72
1.2%
1973–82
3.7%
1983–92
3.9%
1993–99
1.8%
2000–08
1.6%
2009–15
1.8%
2016–25
SheernessEngland & Wales
40% of homes are Victorian or older, against 16% across England and Wales. The busiest period since was 1900–18, which added 10% 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.
Born here
9 notable people born in Sheerness before 1900
Their lives on one timeline, earliest first.
Robert Warington
Henry Russell
Mary Anne Arnold
Edward James Reed
Owen Oliver
Professor Powsey
Herbert Potts
Charles Hezlet
Albert Collins
1800182518501875190019251950
Edward James Reed1830–1906 · British politician (1830-1906)
AC
Albert Collins1899–1969 · English footballer (1899-1969)
Henry Russell1812–1900 · English pianist, baritone singer and composer (1812–1900)
HP
Herbert Potts1878– · English footballer (1878-?)
OO
Owen Oliver1863–1933 · UK author (1863-1933)
Robert Warington1807–1867 · English chemist; (1807-1867)
MA
Mary Anne Arnold1825– · Sailor and cross-dresser
PP
Professor Powsey1866–1956 · British high diver
Everyone born in Sheerness → Birthplaces from Wikidata; portraits from Wikimedia Commons.
Towns its size
Sheerness has the 111th most Grade I buildings of 580 towns its size
Places of 8,000–21,000 people outside London, by Grade I listed buildings.
Sheerness1
#218 of 580for listed buildings per resident (38 per 10,000). Brecon, Ludlow and Richmond lead.
110 have more. The typical town its size has 0.
Neighbours
Listed buildings in the places around Sheerness
| Town | People | Listed | Grade I | History |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sheerness | 13,253 | 51 | 1 | A |
| Halfway Houses | 4,396 | 2 | 0 | D |
| Queenborough | 3,915 | 23 | 0 | B+ |
| Minster (Swale) | 16,735 | 9 | 2 | D |
| Grain | 1,728 | 3 | 1 | C− |
| Iwade | 4,533 | 4 | 1 | D |
| Eastchurch | 3,381 | 6 | 1 | C |
| Allhallows | 1,684 | 3 | 1 | C− |
In brief
Sheerness in brief
Old houses are part of Sheerness’s character: 50% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town. All told, the list holds 51 listed buildings, 1 of them Grade I, including Garrison Point Fort. Only 110 of the 580 towns nearest its size have more Grade I buildings.
Its older streets lie in 3 conservation areas, the first designated in 1972. Edward James Reed (1830), Albert Collins (1899) and Henry Russell (1812) are among the 9 people born here before 1900. The rest is about typical: per resident it sits near the middle of UK towns; and it also has 3 scheduled monuments.
Questions about Sheerness’s history
How many listed buildings are there in Sheerness?
Historic England lists 51 buildings inside Sheerness’s built-up area: 1 Grade I, 8 Grade II* and 42 Grade II.
What are the Grade I listed buildings in Sheerness?
One: Shed Number 78 the Boat Store Building Number 78.
Are there scheduled monuments in Sheerness?
Yes, 3 scheduled monuments, including Queenborough Lines, Sheerness Defences: C19 gun emplacements and magazines and early-C20 gun towers, fire-control building and pillbox on the Centre Bastion and Sheerness defences.
How many conservation areas are there in Sheerness?
3, covering about 12 hectares of the town. The largest are Sheerness Mile Town and Sheerness Dockyard.
When were Sheerness’s buildings listed?
The first in 1950; the most, 21, in 1978.
Are there old photos of Sheerness?
Yes: 1 public-domain photo or postcard from 1803 to 1803, and an old map from 1850, all on this page.
Who was born in Sheerness?
Among people born before 1900: Edward James Reed (1830), Albert Collins (1899), Henry Russell (1812), Herbert Potts (1878) and Owen Oliver (1863).
How old are the homes in Sheerness?
50% of homes were built before 1919 and 65% 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.