Shakespeare playhouse and shipwrecks among historic sites gaining protection

The remains of an Elizabethan theatre, a building used as a Monty Python set and wartime training sites are some of the unusual heritage sites to receive protected status this year.

A vertical spinning tunnel for testing aerodynamics, two 19th century shipwrecks and a house with recently discovered 16th century wall paintings are also among the historic places which were listed or had their protection upgraded in 2019.

Government heritage agency Historic England has revealed its list of the top 21 unusual buildings and sites to have been given new or enhanced protected status this year.

They include the remains of the Curtain playhouse, built in Shoreditch in 1577 and where Romeo and Juliet was staged during Shakespeare’s lifetime, which was discovered in recent excavations.

The Porchester Centre in Bayswater, London, where the Mr Creosote sketch in Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life was filmed in 1982, has been upgraded to Grade II*.

An early telephone kiosk now in a field, a pedestrian tunnel for nursemaids to take children to the park avoiding a busy 19th century road  and 18th century direction markers are also on the list of the top 21 unusual heritage sites highlighted.

Heritage minister Helen Whately said: “From a Tudor playhouse and First World War training trenches to shipwrecks and a Monty Python set, England is home to many historic, iconic, and sometimes quirky sites.

“Protecting our heritage is of huge importance so future generations can better understand all the things that have made this nation great.”

“A kinetic water sculpture, a 19th century nursemaids’ tunnel and an Elizabethan playhouse are among the quirkier places to receive protection this year.

“By celebrating the extraordinary historic places which surround us, above and below ground, we hope to inspire in people a greater interest in our shared heritage, and a commitment to pass it on.”