Add historic sites to our heritage list
Published
Thursday 11 September, 2025
Updated
Thursday 11 September, 2025
People can add more Swale landmarks to a list of 150 important heritage sites.
Swale Borough Council is once again asking its residents to help identify and catalogue structures, green spaces and more, that are important to Swale’s local heritage.
Suggestions can include structures, buildings, monuments, sites, places, areas or landscapes which are valued by local communities and contribute to the character and local distinctiveness of an area.
All nominations will be assessed to make sure they meet the necessary criteria to be included on the list, which considered their age and integrity, as well as their historic and architectural interest, with a particular local emphasis.
They will also need to not be featured on the national heritage list.
The sites on the list will be given the status of non-designated heritage assets, making their conservation a material consideration in any planning applications.
The list is currently made up of more than 150 sites that highlight the positive contribution they make to the unique and special character of the borough.
Cllr Mike Baldock, Swale Borough Council’s heritage champion, said:
“This heritage list is an amazing catalogue of the hidden gems across the borough, from larger buildings like the Faversham Pool, war-time Pill Boxes scattered around our countryside, to small road markings and signs.
“All of these sites offer their own unique glimpse into the varied history of our amazing borough but unfortunately don’t meet the criteria for national listing.
“It is important that this list is guided by local knowledge, so the heritage assets featured accurately represents our communities, and so that we can protect what you truly care about.
“If you know a local site which holds a special meaning to you and your community, please check it meets our criteria and nominate it for our expanded heritage list.
“The assets we add will be given a special status which needs to be taken into consideration when assessing planning applications, giving us an additional tool to protect our local history and heritage from unsympathetic development.”
Find out more about Swale’s Heritage List here and you can explore the full list here.
If your suggestion isn’t on the list and meets the criteria, you can nominate the heritage asset here, before 17 October 2025.
Some highlights of the list include:
In Sittingbourne the art deco cinema building on the high street and the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, which dates back to 1862, have been included on the list.
A World War I pill box near Bobbing, which formed an important part of the local defence network, and the Hartlip Endowed C of E Primary School, which is believed to be one of the oldest existing voluntary aided schools in the country founded in 1678, are also on the list.
Sheerness’s Water Tower on Trinity Road, built in 1860 and used as a water pumping station, and the small Bethel Congregational Church, established in 1801, have also met the criteria to be added to the heritage list.
The Pavilion Building, which serves as the island's information centre, an Arts Award centre and a community radio station, has also received recognition for its heritage importance.
Faversham’s pool, the post office - with its unique copper roofing - and the Edwardian red brick-built police station are amongst the important landmarks added to the list in Faversham.
The remains of the entry arrangement to the Oare Gunpowder Works, now a country park, have also been added to the heritage list.
