Britain's Oldest Buildings Still In Use Today

Found below is a list of some of the British Isles’ oldest buildings which still remain in use to this day.

CATHEDRAL

Britain's oldest cathedral is reputed to be Canterbury Cathedral, shown below, located in the county of Kent.

The building dates back to 1070, although there is evidence of it's foundations and a previous church dating as far back as 597 BC.

Today the cathedral is now a World Heritage Site, along with many other ancient buildings in and around the city. 

CASTLE

Although there is evidence of many Roman castle sites in the United Kingdom the castle which stands in Norwich in Norfolk is the oldest fully formed castle in the land.

Originally a motte and bailey, timber structure dating from 1067,  which was built by William the Conqueror, the structure has seen many restorative additions over the years to what you see today.

CHURCH

St Peter On the Wall church in Essex is a seventh century Saxon/Celtic church built between 660 and 662 for St Cedd, a Northumbrian monk and bishop who was born in 620.

Reputed to be the oldest church in Britain, it is still in use as a house of worship to this day.

HOTEL

The stone built Old Bell Hotel in Malmesbury, Wiltshire is apparently Britain's oldest purpose built hotel and dates back to 1220.

The hotel, which was built alongside Malmesbury Abbey, has been putting up visitors to the abbey since the twelfth century and is still in use to this day.  

 

HOUSE

There are many houses dating back to the stone age in Britain, but they are now in ruins.

Therefore the building which is hailed as Britain's oldest house goes to the ‘Jew’s House’ located on Steep Hill in Lincoln, Lincolnshire.

The house dates back to the twelfth century and is still in use today, although it is a commercial property rather than a place of residence.

When it was originally built the house would have had animals on it's lower floor and been used by the family on it's upper floor.

The house is called the ‘Jew’s House’ as there was a thriving Jewish community in medieval Lincoln, so a Jewish family either built it or were the first to live in it.

LIGHTHOUSE

Britain's oldest lighthouse was built by the Romans between 60 and 80 BC and is situated along side Dover Castle in Kent.

When this lighthouse was built it was known as a Pharo and was possibly Britain's first ever example, although it was more than likely used as a beacon to light the way into the old port rather than a warning of impending land, like lighthouses are today.

PUBLIC HOUSE

There are a myriad of old inns and pubs in and around Britain claiming to be the country’s oldest, but Ye Olde Fighting Cocks located in St Albans in Hertfordshire seems to be the number one contender.

The foundations of this building date back to around 793 and it's original timber structure, which is still in evidence, dates from the eleventh century.

Apparently first built as a roundhouse or pigeon house in the grounds of St Albans Abbey, it would appear it was not used as a public house until the seventeenth century as it's name refers to the sport of cock fighting which became popular during the 1600s.

 

SHOP

Britain is home to eight Heritage cities and fourteen Roman walled cities, the finest example of which is Chester, the county town of Cheshire.

And it is here where Britain's oldest shop can be found.

Situated on Bridge Street, the shop is part of the Chester Rows, the site of some of Britain's finest examples of Tudor buildings still in use today.

This particular building was built around 1274 with the old ground level originally used as a dwelling for animals, the middle level as a shop and the top layer as a dwelling for people, and all of which are still in use to this day.

WINDMILL

Britain has many windmills most of which were built for the manufacture of flour.

But the first evidence of Britain's oldest mills are all found in it's low lying counties of the east coast, giving the impression that most of Britain's earliest windmills were first constructed in order to help drain water from their low lying marshlands.

Most of these type of mills have since fallen into decay or have been demolished, which now leaves the former flour mill at Pitstone Post in Buckinghamshire with the honour of being Britain's oldest, fully functioning mill.

Originally built in 1627 to grind grain from the area’s farms, the mill today is now owned by the National Trust who manage and maintain the building as well as organising tours around the mill for the public.