Landmark Agreement with National Highways to Protect and Promote the Nation’s Heritage
National Highways and Historic England have signed a landmark agreement to protect and promote England’s heritage, ensuring delivery of good outcomes for people and communities.
The Chief Executives of National Highways and Historic England signed the Memorandum of Understanding at the recently restored Upminster Tithe Barn.
The agreement lays out how National Highways and Historic England will work together to conserve and enhance sites of heritage significance along the strategic road network of motorways and major A-roads.
The repair of Upminster Tithe Barn, owned by Havering Council, is a key example of this partnership working approach.
The project was largely funded by National Highways as part of the Lower Thames Crossing scheme, which will run to the east of the site.
The Lower Thames Crossing has a designated funding stream to support initiatives that deliver lasting benefits to communities and the environment in the vicinity.
The barn is an amazing survival story. Likely built during the reign of King Henry VI, using oak felled between 1420 and 1440, at nearly 150 feet (44 metres) long, it is one of the largest thatched barns in the country and was slowly deteriorating.
A £650,000 grant from National Highways, through the Lower Thames Crossing scheme, and a £97,664 grant from Historic England funded the repair and restoration of the medieval structure.
Historic England has also supported the conservation work with advice and technical expertise.
Historic England has confirmed that the barn, which is protected as a scheduled monument – the highest level of heritage protection – can now safely be removed from the Heritage at Risk Register.
The next stage is to fundraise for a heating system and facilities to be installed so that the barn can be used more widely.
The magnificent restoration of Upminster Tithe Barn demonstrates the powerful benefits of working together to protect our irreplaceable heritage and delivery of positive outcomes for people and communities alike. The partnership with National Highways shows how infrastructure projects and heritage protection can go hand in hand successfully. We look forward to building on this collaborative approach through our new agreement, ensuring that we continue to deliver excellent outcomes for historic sites while supporting National Highways’ vital infrastructure work that connects communities across the country.
I am delighted to see the positive outcome we have achieved here in Upminster by working together and to sign this agreement. National Highways is committed to conserving and enhancing heritage assets around the strategic road network, and the agreement signed will help to make the high standards achieved on this project become the norm across our other work together.
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