Oldest buildings in the United Kingdom

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Skara Brae 3180 BC–2500 BC a Neolithic village in Scotland with a high degree of sophistication including furnishings and drainage.

Mousa Broch, built circa 1st century BC

The Roman lighthouse at Dover Castle, built circa 1st century

St. Peter-on-the-Wall Chapel, circa 7th century, is one of the oldest Christian churches in England

This article lists the oldest extant freestanding buildings in the United Kingdom. In order to qualify for the list a structure must:

• be a recognisable building
• either incorporate features of building work from the claimed date to at least 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) in height and/or be a listed building.
• incorporate features of building work of the above nature that date from no later than 1349 AD.

Roads are excluded although other structures such as bridges may be if they otherwise fulfill the above criteria.

Building	Location	First Built	Notes
Knap of Howar	Papa Westray, Orkney	3500 BC	A Neolithic farmstead, claimed to be the oldest preserved stone house in northern Europe.
Midhowe Chambered Cairn	Rousay, Orkney	3500 BC	A well preserved example of the Orkney-Cromarty type of chambered cairn.
Tomb of the Eagles	South Ronaldsay, Orkney	3150 BC	This chambered tomb was in use for 800 years or more. 16,000 human bones were found here, as well as 725 bird bones, predominantly White-tailed Sea Eagle.[1]
Skara Brae	Bay of Skaill, Mainland Orkney	3100 BC	A large stone-built Neolithic village Mainland, Orkney, Scotland 3180 BC–2500 BC. Europe's most complete Neolithic village with a high level of preservation and sophistication.[2]
Unstan Chambered Cairn	Stenness, Mainland Orkney	2800-3400BC	An Orkney-Cromarty chambered cairn.
Maeshowe	Stenness, Mainland Orkney	2700 BC	A large and unique chambered cairn and passage grave, aligned so that its central chamber is illuminated on the winter solstice.[3]
Jarlshof	Sumburgh, Shetland	200 BC	A complex of preserved wheelhouses, amongst the remains of a variety of much older and more recent buildings.[4][5]
Broch of Mousa	Mousa, Shetland	1st century BC	Located on a small island in Shetland, this is the best preserved of numerous brochs from this period.[6]
Temple of Claudius (Colchester Castle)	Colchester, Essex	60 (circa)	The substantial podium and vaults are of the Roman temple (of Camulodunum, capital of Britain) . The Norman castle above dates from c.1076.[7]
Caerleon Roman Amphitheatre	Caerleon, Monmouthshire	90 (circa)
Painted House	Dover, Kent	200 (circa)	Also one of the best preserved Roman houses in Britain
Beehive cells	Eileach an Naoimh, Argyll	6th century?	The monastic centre on this island was founded by St. Brendan the Navigator in 542. The oldest remains include a double beehive cell and a grave and cross-slab associated with Eithne the mother of Columba. These are the oldest extant church buildings in Scotland and possibly Britain.[8][9][10]
Church of St Peter-on-the-Wall	Bradwell-on-Sea, Essex	654	The Chapel is assumed to be that of "Ythanceaster" (Bede, book III, chapter XXII), originally constructed as an Anglo-Celtic Church for the East Saxons in 654 AD by St Cedd, astride the ruins of the abandoned Roman fort of Othona incorporating the Roman bricks and stones.
Escomb Church	Escomb, County Durham	670
Ripon Cathedral	Ripon, North Yorkshire	672	Only the Crypt survives at all - the earliest part of Cathedral itself is 1069
Hexham Abbey	Hexham, Northumberland	674	St. Wilfred's 7th-century crypt survives, built largely out of stones from the Roman city at Corbridge. The main part of the abbey church dates to the 12th and 13th centuries.
St Peter's Church	Monkwearmouth, Sunderland	674
St Paul's Church	Jarrow, Tyne and Wear	680	The Saxon chancel survives.
St Laurence's Church	Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire	7th century
All Saints Church	Brixworth, Northamptonshire	650-870
Greensted Church	Greensted, Essex	845	The oldest wooden building in England
St Nicholas' Church, Leicester	Leicester, Leicestershire	900 (circa)
St Mary's Church	Sompting, West Sussex	960 (circa)
Holy Trinity Church,	Colchester, Essex	1020	Oldest building in Colchester, which has an Anglo Saxon tower with an arrow head doorway. Burial place of William Gilbert and madrigal composer John Wilbye. Grade 1 listed building.
St Michael at the North Gate	Oxford	1040	The tower dates from 1040. Oxford's oldest building.
St.Chads Church	Stafford, Staffordshire	1050
Exeter Cathedral	Exeter	1050	Historians suggest that this could be even AD 690
Norwich Castle	Norwich, East Anglia	1067
Canterbury Cathedral	Canterbury, Kent	1070	Founded in 597
Richmond Castle	Richmond, North Yorkshire	Constructed from 1071
Tower of London	London	1078
Ely Cathedral	Ely, Cambridgeshire	1083
Shrewsbury Abbey	Shrewsbury, Shropshire	1083
St Albans Cathedral	St Albans, Hertfordshire	1089
St Nicholas Church	Iford, East Sussex	c. 1090[11]
Durham Cathedral	Durham	1093
Winchester Cathedral	Winchester, Hampshire	1093
Norwich Cathedral	Norwich, Norfolk	1096
Church of St Andrew, Stogursey	Stogursey, Somerset	1107[12]
St Margaret's Chapel	Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh, Scotland	1124
Rochester Castle	Rochester, Kent	1127
Rochester Cathedral	Rochester, Kent	1130
Dover Priory	Dover, Kent	1131	One of the oldest monastic Refectories, still in use today by Dover College
Kirkstead Abbey	Kirkstead, Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire	1139 (founded)	Destroyed during the reformation; only a single part remains
Cardiff Castle	Cardiff, South Wales	1140 (circa)	The existing Great Keep was built by Robert "the Consul"[13].
Birkenhead Priory	Birkenhead, Wirral	1150
Jew's House	Lincoln, Lincolnshire	c. 1150
Adel St John the Baptist Church	Adel, Leeds, Yorkshire	1150
Windsor Castle	Windsor, Berkshire	1154
Bradwell Abbey	Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire	1155	The Grade 1 Listed Chapel still remains, the inside of the Chapel is often open to the public
Saltford Manor House	Saltford, Somerset	c. 1160
Malmesbury Abbey	Malmesbury, Wiltshire	c. 1180	About a third of the original building remains, and is still in use
Cleeve Abbey	Washford, Somerset	1198[14]
Aberdour Castle	Aberdour, Fife	c. 1200	Base of a late 12th or early 13th century hall house incorporated into later buildings[15]
Easaigh Church	Ensay, Na h-Eileanan Siar	12th century[citation needed]
St. Leonard's Without	Kirkstead, Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire	1230-40
Icomb Place	Icomb, Gloucestershire	At least 1200-40	The first documented activity in the house, was a "restoration" in 1200. The Episcopal manor of Blockley owned the estate in 1086
York Castle	York, Yorkshire	1265
Tintern Abbey	Tintern, Gwent	1269-1301[16]	The existing ruins of the great church date from this period.

See also

• List of the oldest buildings in the world

References

1. ^ "Tomb of the Eagles" tomboftheeagles.co.uk. Retrieved 11 February 2008.
2. ^ Hawkes 1986, p. 262
3. ^ "Maeshowe". Orkneyjar. Retrieved 11 February 2008.
4. ^ Jarlshof Prehistoric & Norse Settlement" Historic Scotland. Retrieved 2 August 2008.
5. ^ Armit, Ian (1991) The Atlantic Scottish Iron Age: five levels of chronology. Proc Soc Antiq Scot 121 page 193
6. ^ Fojut, Noel (1981)"Is Mousa a broch?" Proc. Soc. Antiq. Scot. 111 pp. 220-228.
7. ^ Colchester Castle, Essex, InfoBritain.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
8. ^ Pallister, Marian (2005) Lost Argyll: Argyll's Lost Heritage. Edinburgh. Birlinn. Pages 120 and 133.
9. ^ "Garvellachs, Eileach An Naoimh" Canmore. Retrieved 13 Feb 2011.
10. ^ "Jura National Scenic Area" (2010) (pdf) Extract from: The special qualities of the National Scenic Areas. SNH Commissioned Report No.374. Scottish Natural Heritage. Retrieved 13 Feb 2011.
11. ^ "St Nicholas, Iford, East Sussex". roughwood.net. 3 January 2004. http://www.roughwood.net/ChurchAlbum/EastSussex/Iford/IfordStNicholas2004.htm. 
12. ^ "Stogursey Castle". Images of England. http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/Default.aspx?id=265202. Retrieved 2008-03-11. 
13. ^ Cardiff Castle, Castles of Wales website. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
14. ^ "Cleeve Abbey". Images of England. English Heritage. http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/Default.aspx?id=264814. Retrieved 2008-07-13. 
15. ^ Tabraham, Chris. (1997) Scotland's Castles, BT Batsford/Historic Scotland. ISBN 0-7134-7965-5 p.33
16. ^ Cistercian Abbeys: TINTERN, University of Sheffield, Cistercians of Yorkshire Project. Retrieved 2011-11-12.