Source::
XINHUA
LONDON
Historic England announced Wednesday that over 400 historic places have been added to England's official Natural Heritage List during 2020.
The public body said the 423 newcomers to the register include an extremely well-preserved 18th-century shipwreck in Kent, a rare survival of two 17th century wall paintings in Hertfordshire, and a Victorian train station cafe that was used to serve British and Allied Forces meals during the Second World War.
Protected as a scheduled monument, the well-preserved 18th-century merchant ship, the Old Brig, is believed to have been involved in the smuggling of liquor and contraband off the Kent coast outside London.
The wreck, one of only three known coastal trading vessels in England from the Hanoverian period (1714-1901), was exposed by tides after lying in the mud in the Thames Estuary for hundreds of years.
Highlights also include a memorial that commemorates the nine lives lost during the fatal mission of the Beauchamp Lifeboat in Norfolk, and the internationally renowned department store, Selfridges, on London's Oxford Street.
Selfridges has been upgraded to a Grade 2-star historic building as a tribute to being a key to transforming the British high street at the turn of the 20th century.
"As one of the world's most famous department stores, Selfridges played a huge part in transforming Britain's retail scene at the turn of the 20th century, much to its owner, Harry Gordon Selfridge's, credit," said Historic England.
"Through elaborate window dressing, excellent customer service, and clever advertising, the department store became a social and cultural institution open to the general public," it added.
Heritage Minister Nigel Huddleston described the additions this year as "significant," and said that the "heritage sites will continue to enrich our communities for generations to come."
"Through listing these sites, Historic England hopes to ensure England's rich and varied cultural heritage is preserved so that the public can continue to cherish the sites that make their local places so important," a spokeswoman for Historic England said.
"2020 has seen many brilliant additions to the List," Historic England CEO Duncan Wilson said.
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