By Nick Miles, BSc (Hons), Conservation Builder  (Bisley News July 09)

Many who live in Bisley, or one of the surrounding villages or hamlets, may or may not consider themselves fortunate to live in a property built before 1919, particularly when you consider the maintenance burden attached to such buildings. Indeed, several of the buildings in the vicinity pre-date this by as many as 600 or 700 years. There are around 153 listed structures within a 2-mile radius of Bisley, including all manner of houses, barns, churches, monuments, tombs, steps, bridges and even a telephone box! Listing is split into three designations: Grade I, Grade II* and Grade II in ascending order of significance. Contrary to popular belief, the inside and outside of any listed building is protected, along with anything within its curtilage and requires Listed Building Consent to demolish, alter or extend. In addition, there are also hundreds of ‘non-listed’ stone houses, cottages and barns in the area.