Network of First World War training trenches among sites added to heritage list in 2022
A network of First World War training trenches and two centuries-old shipwrecks are among 240 sites that have been added to the National Heritage List for England this year.
Two Victorian cabmen's shelters were also Grade II listed along with an 18th-Century watermill drawn by the famous landscape artist John Constable.
Discovered at Shingles Bank off the Isle of Wight, the shipwrecks, named NW96 and NW68, were dated to the 16th and 17th centuries respectively and have been granted the highest level of protection because of their extreme rarity.
It is thought that NW96 predates 1580 because of the presence of a lead ingot cast from a furnace known as a bole, which fell out of use around that time.
The network of trenches found in Norfolk is also said to be rare in that many others have long been filled in.
It was used by the Lovat Scouts, a regiment of the Scottish Highland Yeomanry, which was formed during the Boer War and fought in Gallipoli in 1915 and in the Second World War.
Commanded by Lord Lovat, uncle of SAS founder David Stirling, the Lovat Scouts pioneered the use of unconventional tactics and are credited with introducing the camouflaged sniper's ghillie suit into the British Army.
Its soldiers were drawn from among workers of the Scottish Highlands and Islands, and Stirling would go on to employ their pioneering tactics against the Nazis and Italians in North Africa.
Heritage minister Lord Parkinson said: "Heritage sites tell the story of our country, boost tourism, and help us understand and take pride in where we live.
"By listing buildings and protecting wrecks, battlefields and monuments, we can safeguard our history for future generations to enjoy as well.
"With an extra 240 places added to the list this year, I'm pleased to join Historic England in encouraging everyone to get out and explore our shared heritage this Christmas."
Among the Grade II listed buildings are two cabmen's shelters – at Pont Street, Kensington, and Chelsea Embankment.
The shelter at Pont Street, built in 1892, is still open more than a century later, selling breakfast and coffee to black cab drivers.
Only 13 of the 61 original shelters in London have survived, with many having been bombed by the Luftwaffe or bulldozed during construction work.
They were the idea of Captain George Armstrong, editor of The Globe newspaper, and gave cabbies with their horse-drawn Hackney carriages somewhere to rest and eat at any time of the day or night without leaving their vehicles unattended.
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