IChurch · listed 1961Church of All SaintsPhoto: Robert Edwards · CC BY-SA 2.0
Babergh Hall · Photo: Sandy Gerrard · CC BY-SA 2.0C+History Grade
History of Acton · Historic England
13 listed buildings, 1 of them Grade I
Historic England counts them inside Acton’s built-up area, 78 for every 10,000 residents. 11 of Acton’s listed buildings are Grade II. 8.6% of its homes were built before 1919. Acton grades C+ for history.
Listed buildings
13
78 per 10,000 residents
Grade I
1
exceptional interest
Grade II*
1
more than special interest
Scheduled monuments
0
nationally important sites
Homes built before 1919
8.6%
typical UK town 15%
In pictures
Landmarks of Acton
Nearly every Grade I and II* building, photographed. 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 Acton’s history is
Every Grade I and II* building, monument and historic park.
Grade IGrade II*
Hover a dot for its name; tap one with a photo to open it.
13 listed buildings by grade
1 Grade I1 Grade II*11 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 Grade I listed building in Acton
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 Grade II* listed building in Acton
Particularly important buildings of more than special interest. Every one is photographed.
II*Public · listed 1953Babergh HallPhoto: Sandy Gerrard · CC BY-SA 2.0
Grade II
11 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.
How the list grew
More than half of Acton’s listed buildings were added in one year, 1978
The year each building now on the list was first listed.
1978 · 9
19501960197019801990200020102020
The first 2 entries were listed in 1953. 9 came in 1978, in the national resurvey of the 1970s and 80s. Only 0 have been added in the last 15 years.
History Grade
Acton 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 (16 points, 96 per 10,000 residents)More than 57% of UK towns
Homes built before 1919 (8.6%)More than 21% 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
8.6% of Acton’s homes were built before 1919
Every home by when it was built, from council tax records, against England & Wales (the dark tick).
8.8%
Before 1900
0%
1900–18
1.4%
1919–29
0.7%
1930s
0.9%
1945–54
1.7%
1955–64
8.2%
1965–72
56%
1973–82
2%
1983–92
1.4%
1993–99
2.9%
2000–08
1.9%
2009–15
14%
2016–25
ActonEngland & Wales
8.8% of homes are Victorian or older, against 16% across England and Wales. The busiest period since was 1973–82, which added 56% 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.
Towns its size
Acton has the 86th most Grade I buildings of 1,638 towns its size
Places of 1,000–3,000 people outside London, by Grade I listed buildings.
Acton1
#738 of 1,638for listed buildings per resident (78 per 10,000). Aberaeron, Beaumaris and Burford lead.
85 have more. The typical town its size has 0.
Neighbours
Listed buildings in the places around Acton
| Town | People | Listed | Grade I | History |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acton | 1,666 | 13 | 1 | C+ |
| Great Waldingfield | 1,377 | 20 | 0 | B− |
| Long Melford | 3,895 | 184 | 2 | A+ |
| Sudbury | 23,922 | 255 | 8 | A− |
| Lavenham | 1,224 | 196 | 13 | A+ |
| Glemsford | 3,693 | 37 | 1 | A− |
| Bures | 1,183 | 54 | 1 | A+ |
| Bildeston | 1,096 | 71 | 0 | A+ |
In brief
Acton in brief
Acton has 13 listed buildings, 1 of them Grade I. Only 85 of the 1,638 towns nearest its size have more Grade I buildings. Its homes are mostly newer: 8.6% were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town. More than half went on the list in a single year, 1978: 9 of 13. Otherwise the figures are ordinary: per resident it sits near the middle of UK towns; and Edward Bickersteth (1814) and Alice Ottley (1840) were born here before 1900.
Questions about Acton’s history
How many listed buildings are there in Acton?
Historic England lists 13 buildings inside Acton’s built-up area: 1 Grade I, 1 Grade II* and 11 Grade II.
What are the Grade I listed buildings in Acton?
One: Church of All Saints.
When were Acton’s buildings listed?
The first in 1953; the most, 9, in 1978.
How old are the homes in Acton?
8.6% of homes were built before 1919 and 11% 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. 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.