Architectural photo of a large urban Art Deco building frontage. The building is at least 7 storeys high, with a green-glazed brick roof.
The Commercial Office 141 Wardour Street, Soho, London © Historic England Archive DP413810
The Commercial Office 141 Wardour Street, Soho, London © Historic England Archive DP413810

Introductions to Heritage Assets (IHAs)

Our illustrated bite-sized research summaries of different types of heritage assets. These useful guides summarise existing literature, as well as giving insights into less well-known topics that might not have been widely studied or written about.

What Introductions to Heritage Assets cover:

Our 'Introductions to Heritage Assets' (IHAs) series sets out our current understanding of different types of historic buildings, landscapes, sites or monuments (collectively referred to here as ‘heritage assets’), as well as the historic development of ships and boats. The guides are usually laid out in a similar way: 

  • A short introduction: This first section defines the type of heritage asset covered in the guide and explains any alternative names by which it is known. It also provides the broad date range of this type of heritage, discusses how many examples are known and outlines where they are located. Threats specific to this type of heritage are also identified here.
  • A description, or historical background: This section considers in greater detail where this type of heritage asset can be found, how it looks or would have looked and how it functions or would have functioned. Some guides also include a timeline, tracing the development of the asset type through time.
  • Development: For some heritage assets the description is followed by a more detailed discussion of their development, which may be revealed by archaeology or survey work. 
  • Further reading: Each guide finishes by signposting to key works for further reading.

IHAs fall under 4 main categories: buildings, archaeology, designed landscapes and ships and boats. New titles are added regularly, as our understanding evolves or new research comes to light.

Buildings

IHAs focusing on buildings complement the Listing Selection Guides series and provide more detailed information about specific types of buildings, from shopping parades to signal boxes.

Introduction to Heritage Assets - Buildings 

Name 

Broad theme 

Shielings 

Agriculture and fisheries 

River Fisheries and Coastal Fish Weirs 

Agriculture and fisheries 

The Commercial Office 1900-39 

Business and commercial 

The Late 20th-Century Commercial Office 

Business and commercial 

Post-Modern Architecture 

Design & architecture 

19th- and 20th-Century Convents and Monasteries 

Faith & belief 

19th and 20th Century Roman Catholic Churches 

Faith & belief 

Nonconformist Places of Worship 

Faith & belief 

Domestic Housing for Disabled Veterans 1900-2014 

Health & welfare 

20th-Century Coal- and Oil-Fired Electric Power Generation 

Infrastructure  

Law Courts and Courtrooms 1 - The Buildings of the Criminal Law 

Law and Government 

Law Courts and Courtrooms 2 - Civil and Coroner's Courts 

Law and Government 

Historic Amusement Parks and Fairground Rides

Leisure 

Interwar Theatres

Leisure 

Shopping Parades

Leisure 

The English Public Library 1850-1939

Leisure 

The English Public Library 1945-85

Leisure 

Coastguard Stations

Marine 

Public Art 1945-95

Monuments & memorials 

Drill Halls

Science & industry 

Gasworks and Gasholders

Science & industry 

Mechanics' Institutes

Science & industry 

Mills

Science & industry 

Science Laboratories to 1900

Science & industry 

Textile Mills

Science & industry 

Buildings and Infrastructure for the Motor Car

Transport 

Pre-industrial Roads, Trackways and Canals

Transport 

Railway Goods Sheds and Warehouses

Transport 

Signal Boxes

Transport 

Archaeology

These IHAs cover heritage assets from early prehistory to the end of the Middle Ages, with titles covering a broad range of topics from Prehistoric Rock Art to Pre-Christian cemeteries. These guides complement the Scheduling Selection Guides. 

Introduction to Heritage Assets - Archaeology 

Name 

Broad theme 

Banjo Enclosures 

Agriculture and fisheries 

Pre-industrial Salterns

Agriculture and fisheries 

Animal Management

Agriculture and fisheries 

Field Systems

Agriculture and fisheries 

Medieval and Later Fieldworks

Agriculture and fisheries 

Water Meadows

Agriculture and fisheries 

Prehistoric Rock Art

Monuments & memorials 

Hermitages

Faith & belief 

Megalithic Chamber Tombs

Faith & belief 

Prehistoric Henges and Circles 

Faith & belief 

Later Prehistoric Shrines and Ritual Structures 

Faith & belief 

Roman and Medieval Sea and River Flood Defences 

Infrastructure 

Roman Amphitheatres, Theatres and Circuses 

Leisure 

Linear Frontiers 

Military & defense 

Saxon Shore Forts 

Military & defense 

Roman Forts and Fortresses 

Military & defense 

Artillery Defences 

Military & defense 

Civil Defence - From the First World War to the Cold War 

Military & defense 

Earthwork Castles 

Military & defense 

Hillforts 

Military & defense 

Stone Castles  

Military & defense 

Prehistoric Avenues and Alignments 

Monuments & memorials 

Prehistoric Barrows and Burial Mounds 

Monuments & memorials 

Pre-Christian Cemeteries 

Monuments & memorials 

Shrines (Roman and Post-Roman) 

Monuments & memorials 

Anglo-Jewish Burial Grounds - The Post-Resettlement Period 

Monuments & memorials 

Caves, Fissures and Rockshelters 

Other 

Medieval and Early Post-Medieval Glassworks 

Science & industry 

Pre-industrial Ironworks 

Science & industry 

Pre-industrial Lime Kilns 

Science & industry 

Pre-industrial Mines and Quarries 

Science & industry 

Roman and Medieval Pottery and Tile Production 

Science & industry 

Causewayed Enclosures 

Human settlements 

Oppida 

Human settlements 

Prehistoric Linear Boundary Earthworks 

Human settlements 

Enclosed Prehistoric Settlements 

Human settlements 

Medieval Settlements 

Human settlements 

Prehistoric and Romano-British Settlements with Structures 

Human settlements 

Roman Settlements 

Human settlements 

Designed landscapes

The guides on designed landscapes focus on lesser-known types of landscapes and complement the Selection Guides for Parks and Gardens. 

Introduction to Heritage Assets – Designed landscapes 

Post-War Landscapes 

War Memorial Parks and Gardens 

Ships and boats 

The guides to vessels complement the Ships & Boats Selection Guide, and cover all types from early prehistory to the years immediately following the Second World War, including: 

  • All vessels used on inland waters, coastal waters, and the open sea, including submarines and those that are now buried underground and those no longer afloat 
  • Key archaeological discoveries 

Introductions to Heritage Assets – Ships & Boats 

Ships and Boats: 1840 to 1950 

Ships and Boats: Prehistory to 1840