Quiz: which high street era do you belong to?
Find out which historic high street you would be most at home in.
Historic High Streets
England was once called “a nation of shopkeepers”. It certainly was meant to be an insult but more than 200 years later, Brits still love to shop.
Despite our love of a bargain, you can’t help but notice these days our high streets are going through some hard times, suffering because of out of town shopping centres and more and more people shopping online.
For decades, high streets have been hubs of the community and today they can still tell us so much about our ancestors’ lives.
To celebrate what high streets meant to people in the past, and what they can be again, take our fun quiz to see which historic high street you’d be most at home in.
High Streets Heritage Action Zones
In September 2020 we launched the High Streets Heritage Action Zones programme, which will provide £95 million to find new ways to champion and revitalise 68 high streets in England. Working in partnership with owners, developers, local government and the local community, heritage-led revival will be used as a catalyst for wider regeneration.
Find a Heritage Action Zone near you
This forms part of our wider work to support sustainable and positive change in historic places. Find out about further work in the 'also of interest' section at the end of this page.
Why are historic high streets important...?
Historic high streets are key to the local identity of their towns
They are not boring "clones". Each historic high street reflects the unique character of their town, with a wealth of quirky architectural detail.
Our high streets bring communities together
They hold shared community history in their shop fronts and bring the community together to shop and browse, with the potential to be a focus for local civic pride.
Historic high streets attract businesses and visitors to your town
Our research has shown that well kept historic areas are attractive places for business and are a great place to be for locals and visitors alike. Heritage led regeneration can lead to further economic growth and an improved sense of wellbeing.
Thanks to a nine year collaboration between Historic England, Derby City Council and local retailers, Derby's historic city centre conservation area has been transformed.
So why do High Streets struggle and what can go wrong...?
Despite their potential advantages, our high streets face new economic challenges.
Out of town retail parks and online shopping have changed shopping behaviour
Historic buildings left vacant are at greater risk of damage and decay
Which means local character is lost, people are less likely to invest in the high street and our civic pride and sense of wellbeing can take a knock.
