Historic England is celebrating some of the latest historic buildings given the protection of listed status in 2024 – and that includes a bungalow-style maternity ward in Huddersfield.

Of the 17 buildings highlighted across the country, two are in Huddersfield. One is a revolutionary former maternity ward at Princess Royal Community Hospital and the other… isn’t a building at all!

The second listed structure is an iron electrical box junction, dating back to 1895, in Fitzwilliam Street in Huddersfield town centre.

Dubbed one of the town’s ‘quirkiest’ listed buildings it was featured on Huddersfield Hub in November.

 

 

The maternity ward was built in a ‘bungalow style’ with an emphasis on infection control which improved the lives of new mothers from the late 1920s.

Historic England says: “The former maternity ward at Princess Royal Community Hospital is a rare example of a relatively unaltered maternity ward from 1928.

“Built following the 1918 Maternity and Child Welfare Act, which greatly improved care for expectant mothers and children, it reflects a pivotal moment in the development of public healthcare for women.

“This ‘bungalow ward’, designed in the Arts and Crafts style, was built as part of Huddersfield Municipal Maternity Hospital. Its original floor plan, designed with infection control, sanitation and care of new mothers at its heart, has remained unchanged over the years.

“The focus is on well-ventilated single occupancy rooms – a progressive departure from the traditional communal wards of the era.

“This design reduced the risks of contagious diseases as well as potentially fatal ‘childbed fever’ also known as puerperal fever, a bacterial infection affecting women after childbirth.

“Alongside communal pavilion rooms and patios to enhance the wellbeing of recovering mothers, the ward represents a revolutionary progression in British healthcare, at a time when mortality rates for new mothers were very high.

“It remained a maternity hospital for 56 years. The last baby born at the hospital was in October 1984, after which it became the Princess Royal Community Hospital.”

Read more about the electrical junction box via the link below.

It’s not just any old iron – it’s Huddersfield’s latest and quirkiest Grade II listed building

Of the other 17 listed buildings, there’s a fingerpost sign in the South West to help drivers at junctions, a striking modernist house with curved walls in Essex and a Gothic church with needle-like spires that started in a butcher’s kitchen in Surrey.

Across England, 256 historic places have been added to the National Heritage List for England (NHLE) in 2024.

Duncan Wilson, chief executive of Historic England, said: “From rare 17th century chest tombs to a post-war church above the shops to a revolutionary former maternity ward benefiting new mothers, these remarkable places granted protection in 2024 show the diversity of England’s heritage.

“This festive season, we invite you to explore the historic places on your doorstep.”

The public can share pictures and stories of all these remarkable buildings and places as part of Historic England’s The Missing Pieces Project which can be found HERE.