WHY ISN'T THE ANGEL IN BRIGG A LISTED BUILDING?

North Lincolnshire Council has replied to the question: Why isn't the Angel in Brigg a listed building?
Ken Harrison emailed Brigg Blog wondering why this is the case.
We offered North Lincolnshire Council the opportunity to respond.
Here's the correspondence. Make your your own mind up....

FROM KEN HARRISON
Most of the properties in the Brigg Conservation Area are Listed buildings.  All of the buildings in Bridge Street are Listed.....and even the Ladbrook's betting shop is graded.....so why is a singularly attractive, one that has impact in the Market Place and a property that could be claimed to represent the character and ambience of the town, The Angel, be exempt from the Statutory List of locally graded buildings?
It is excepted that The Angel is a comparatively young refurbishment of an ancient coaching inn, but its footprint and atmosphere have connections to Henry VIII.
Age is not the only criterion  to be consideration for Listing - other aspects,such as architectural uniqueness, structures that have a heritage asset and those that attract enough interest that they deserve to be protected can be Listed.
The Angel ticks the appropriate boxes with abundance.....so I ask again, why is it not Listed?


FROM NORTH LINCOLNSHIRE COUNCIL
Historic England are the organisation responsible for listing buildings. They list buildings using the following general principals.
Age and rarity.The older a building is, and the fewer the surviving examples of its kind, the more likely it is to have special interest.The other key factor is the degree of alteration that the building had from when it was first built.
The Angel originally a 17th century coaching Inn was substantially altered in the early 20th century with a new red brick façade with fake half timbering above. It has interesting architecture and the builder wanted it to stand out from any other buildings in the market place having four tall gables at second floor level, which face the street. A central carriage entrance punctuates the symmetrical façade, leading to a stable courtyard behind.
In 1985 the then English Heritage now Historic England undertook a national survey of buildings in England and the Angel was not listed probably because of the substantial later alterations. However, the building has been classed as a building of townscape merit in the adopted Brigg conservation area appraisal document. In addition it sits in the Brigg conservation area.
This means there is legislation and policy in place that will protect the building in the long term from being demolished or being unsympathetically altered. Whilst the building is an attractive building it is felt that the level of protection it currently has is sufficient in this instance and there are no plans to put it forward for listing at present.
However when it comes to listing buildings, any private individual or group can put a building forward for listing by simply contacting Historic England at https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/apply-for-listing/

Ken Harrison kindly supplied the picture of the Angel used here.