Historic England: Air raid siren and mill among 2022 listings

The siren was listed as an example of "civil defence provision" from both the World War Two and Cold War eras

An air raid siren, a pair of county boundary markers, a canal crane and a mill that inspired one of art's old masters were among Historic England's new listings in North West England.

Some 26 sites were logged from November 2021 to November 2022, ten of which were in Greater Manchester.

Nine Cumbrian sites were listed, three on Merseyside and one in Cheshire.

The charity's Trevor Mitchell said the variety of listings "illustrates the rich diversity of our shared heritage".

A Historic England representative said the siren in Hale was an "extremely rare example" of an "in situ" piece of World War Two early warning equipment.

A now-disused medical surgery in Ancoats, meanwhile, was a "rare survival in a heavily urbanised context of a 19th Century bespoke refurbishment of a house for use by a doctor".

Also added to the National Heritage List for England in Greater Manchester were an early 19th Century house and domestic workshop in central Rochdale with links to the Co-Operative Movement.

A "rare surviving Art Deco scheme of two bespoke and distinctly styled café rooms and staircase" were listed in Stockport, as were a pair of motorway markers on the M62 in Rochdale and Ripponden, which originally marked the boundaries of Lancashire and Yorkshire.

Coombe Gill Mill was the subject of artist John Constable's 1806 pencil and watercolour work

In Cumbria, the listings included two mills - Borrowdale's Coombe Gill Mill and Caldbeck's Howk Bobbin Mill.

The former was described as a "rugged rubblestone and slate building, perched on the edge of Coombe Gill, which was once used to mill corn for the local community" and was the subject of a 1806 painting by artist John Constable.

Howk Bobbin Mill is "one of the best surviving examples" of a 19th century purpose-built facility, Historic England said.

Also listed in the county were Burneside's Garnett House, an 18th Century farmhouse with a 16th Century front range and a medieval tower, a set of 18th Century ornamental gate and railings in Whitehaven's St Nicholas Gardens and a "simple, but attractive timber-framed waiting room" designed in the spirit of the Arts and Crafts Movement" at Bootle Station.

Both Borrow's Bridge and its adjacent hand-cranked crane were listed

On Merseyside, the first locomotive terminus at Edge Hill in Liverpool was finally added to the list, following a long campaign by rail enthusiasts.

In Cheshire, Borrow's Bridge and its hand-cranked crane in Runcorn were listed, preserving what the charity said was "an integral part of the historically significant and innovative Bridgewater Canal".

Mr Mitchell, the body's regional director for the north, said places like this "help to make us proud of where we live".

He added: "As the challenges from the climate crisis grow, listing also helps to encourage keeping historic buildings in use, which avoids the massive amounts of extra carbon emissions associated with building new."