HERITAGE ON THE SLIDE
1970s play area given a Grade II-listing
‘Ambitious and inventive’
PICTurE the kind of sites that are granted protected status and you’ll probably think of somewhere grand or historically significant – York Minster or the house in which Shakespeare was born, for instance.
Now there is a new addition to Historic England’s esteemed register of listed structures – a children’s slide on a council estate in London.
The structure – designed by landscape architect Michael Brown – was built in the 1970s in Westminster and has been delighting children ever since. It is one of the last surviving play constructions from this period. Now it has cemented its place in history by being added to the National Heritage List with a Grade II-listing.
Historic England described the setting as ‘ the most complete public housing project’ by Mr Brown and also complimented the play area’s complex brickwork. It added that ‘ very few items of play equipment have been listed, and this is a particularly ambitious and inventive creation’.
It was one of 24 parks, gardens and landscapes which were granted protection.
Other places added to the list were Campbell Park in Milton Keynes which features a ‘Light Pyramid’ first lit for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012.
Also included is the Golden Lane Estate, Barbican, City of London, built between 1953 and 1962. Duncan Wilson, from Historic England, said: ‘ This project shines a light on some amazing landscapes that exist all over the country, celebrating how they enhance our lives.’