IChurch · listed 1960Church of St MaryPhoto: Evelyn Simak · CC BY-SA 2.0
Photo: Evelyn Simak · CC BY-SA 2.0A−History Grade
History of North Elmham · Historic England
15 listed buildings, 2 of them Grade I
Historic England counts them inside North Elmham’s built-up area, 128 for every 10,000 residents. Of the listed buildings in North Elmham, 12 are Grade II. 30% of its homes were built before 1919. North Elmham grades A− for history.
Listed buildings
15
128 per 10,000 residents
Grade I
2
exceptional interest
Grade II*
1
more than special interest
Scheduled monuments
0
1 registered park or garden
Homes built before 1919
30%
typical UK town 15%
In pictures
Landmarks of North Elmham
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.
The map
Where North Elmham’s history is
Every Grade I and II* building, monument and historic park.
Grade IGrade II*Park or garden
Hover a dot for its name; tap one with a photo to open it.
15 listed buildings by grade
2 Grade I1 Grade II*12 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 2 Grade I listed buildings in North Elmham
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 1951North Elmham chapel and manor houseOn the list as Ruined Church and Manor HousePhoto: Evelyn Simak · CC BY-SA 2.0
Grade II*
The Grade II* listed building in North Elmham
Particularly important buildings of more than special interest.
House · listed 1951Shettles
Grade II
12 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.
Conservation areas
1 conservation area covers 46% of North Elmham
Areas the council protects as a whole: demolition and changes to how buildings look need consent, and trees are protected.
North Elmham 198829 ha
29 hain conservation areas, of 64 ha inside the built-up area.
15 of the 15 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 North Elmham’s listed buildings were added in one year, 1984
The year each building now on the list was first listed.
1984 · 10
19501960197019801990200020102020
The first 4 entries were listed in 1951, 1 of the 2 Grade I buildings among them. 10 came in 1984, 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 registered park or garden
Elmham HouseGrade II
History Grade
North Elmham 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 (21 points, 179 per 10,000 residents)More than 69% of UK towns
Homes built before 1919 (30%)More than 83% 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
30% of North Elmham’s homes were built before 1919
Every home by when it was built, from council tax records, against England & Wales (the dark tick).
28%
Before 1900
1.9%
1900–18
1.5%
1919–29
5.7%
1930s
8.2%
1945–54
18%
1955–64
14%
1965–72
4%
1973–82
4%
1983–92
4.4%
1993–99
4%
2000–08
0.6%
2009–15
5.5%
2016–25
North ElmhamEngland & Wales
28% of homes are Victorian or older, against 16% across England and Wales. The busiest period since was 1955–64, which added 18% 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 (26 here) are left out; 1939–44 is not a period in the data.
Towns its size
North Elmham has the 28th most Grade I buildings of 1,998 towns its size
Places of 1,000–2,000 people outside London, by Grade I listed buildings.
North Elmham2
#804 of 1,998for listed buildings per resident (128 per 10,000). Aberaeron, Beaumaris and Burford lead.
27 have more. The typical town its size has 0.
Neighbours
Listed buildings in the places around North Elmham
| Town | People | Listed | Grade I | History |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Elmham | 1,172 | 15 | 2 | A− |
| Swanton Morley | 2,175 | 7 | 1 | C+ |
| Foulsham | 1,025 | 28 | 1 | A |
| Dereham | 20,788 | 105 | 1 | B |
| Mattishall | 2,203 | 23 | 2 | B |
| Reepham | 2,317 | 52 | 1 | A |
| Fakenham | 8,390 | 94 | 1 | A− |
| Shipdham | 2,459 | 16 | 1 | B− |
In brief
North Elmham in brief
Old houses are part of North Elmham’s character: 30% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town. In all there are 15 listed buildings, 2 of them Grade I. Only 27 of the 1,998 towns nearest its size have more Grade I buildings.
A conservation area has protected part of it since 1988. More than half went on the list in a single year, 1984: 10 of 15. The rest is about typical: per resident it sits near the middle of UK towns; and George Dickins (1821) and George Englebright (1805) were born here before 1900.
Questions about North Elmham’s history
How many listed buildings are there in North Elmham?
Historic England lists 15 buildings inside North Elmham’s built-up area: 2 Grade I, 1 Grade II* and 12 Grade II.
What are the Grade I listed buildings in North Elmham?
2, including Church of St Mary and Ruined Church and Manor House.
How many conservation areas are there in North Elmham?
1, covering about 29 hectares of the town. The largest is North Elmham.
When were North Elmham’s buildings listed?
The first in 1951; the most, 10, in 1984.
How old are the homes in North Elmham?
30% of homes were built before 1919 and 37% 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.