This category is for articles relevant to owners of holiday homes and cottages that are listed buildings in England, Wales or Scotland. It contains posts, articles and tips on many areas of managing heritage listed buildings, including maintenance, marketing, planning regulations and insurance. Check out these posts, Maintaining and updating your heritage holiday home and Marketing a listed holiday home.

holiday home's history

holiday home's historyIf you own an older historic holiday letting property then you’re likely to have had, and will have, plenty of questions from guests about your heritage holiday home’s history. Have you considered the benefits of integrating this information to guests in your holiday home marketing to help secure new and repeat bookings? You may have an idea of when it was built or who lived there before, but do you know how to find out more about your holiday home’s history?

Take a look

The easiest way to get started with learning more about your property is to look for visual clues in the architecture. It may sound obvious, but the architecture and style of your house will help you identify the time period in which it was built. There may also be some bits that don’t seem quite right, which may indicate that they were added at a later date. If you’re no expert on period architecture, which we aren’t either, then the next steps will also help place your property in history…

Go local

Local history and developments may have affected your property much more than you think. Knowing what was going on around your holiday let over the years can reveal surprising changes and events. British History Online is a great resource for learning about local history, and finding your holiday home’s place in it.

It is also worth talking to a Local History Society. The Local History Online website has a list of societies and their contact information.

Home history

If you are wanting to discover more about the building itself, there are many resources you can focus on.  Photographs and newspapers are a great way to research the appearance of your house. If you don’t have any copies, get in touch with your local record office or The Historic England Archive. Articles can provide useful contextual information, and potentially even some photographs!

Is your holiday home a listed property? When owning a heritage home you’re likely to be more aware of it’s history. Listed Buildings Online contains useful records of British Listed Buildings including details of their age and why they were listed.

Ordnance Survey maps are also brilliant for seeing how an area has developed over time. If you don’t know when your holiday let was built, these maps can help you establish a rough time. Copies of these maps from 1840s onwards can be found at county record offices and local libraries.

Did your property once form part of a farm, public house, vicarage, church house, or workhouse? Extra resources are available. The National Farm Survey, visitation records in the parish chest, and this workhouse site are definitely worth checking out if you own one of these building types.

Past people

If social history is what you’re after, then there are multiple records and registers that could help you.

Electoral Registers

Electoral registers can be useful, but they may only be of limited use. Electoral registers were compiled annually from 1832, however women don’t appear on the register until 1918. As well as this, the voting age wasn’t lowered to 18 until 1969, restricting the knowledge that can be gleaned.

Copies can be found at local record offices or local studies libraries.

Census Records

Census records have been going every 10 years since 1801. They are filed with information about the previous occupants of your property, including names, ages, sex, marital status, birth locations, and occupations. Due to privacy reasons, censuses between 1841 and 1911 are available. Later censuses will only be available 100 years after the date they were conducted.

Visitor interest

Once you’ve discovered the history of your holiday home, why not make an information pack for guests and include it in all of your promotional material? Point out any particularly interesting architectural elements, include copies of old photos, and take them through the social and local history. Let us know your holiday home’s history, we would love to hear their stories.

Boshers are specialist providers of Holiday Home Insurance and Listed Holiday Home Insurance. For more information on how a specialist insurer can help and support your holiday home business, please give us a call on 01237 429444. 

Follow this link for posts similar to Insurance for Listed Holiday Lets with Heritage and other useful resources for holiday home owners.

You may also find the following post for Listed Holiday Let owners of interest:

Listed Building Consent

Listed Building ConsentAs a nation we love our history and heritage; there’s a reason National Trust properties are some of the most popular venues to visit across the country no matter what the season.  A recent survey by Historic England has now revealed that the owners of listed buildings are also proud with their own stake in a yester year.

For the report 1,000 privately owned listed building owners were surveyed, with 93% of those asked seeing their property as important to local character.

If you own your own slice of English heritage then you’ll need to be familiar with the obligations and responsibilities that come with owning a listed property, particularly when it comes to making modifications or changes to your building (as may be the case with the ever changing needs and demands of visitors).

Listed Building Consent (LBC)

As so many historic properties are privately owned (some two thirds of the listed properties across the UK are in private ownership), it is up to the homeowners to ensure that proper maintenance is carried out in order to preserve these wonderful buildings. As part of this, there is sometimes a need to apply for Listed Building Consent (LBC). This building consent must come from your local planning authority, and it is needed if you want to alter or extend a listed building in a way that affects its character or appearance.

Understanding which work requires LBC

88% of owners recognise the importance of Listed Building Consent, which is good because unauthorised work is a criminal offence which can result in prosecution. Whilst most owners have reported a positive experience when applying for LBC, one third of people have had a bad experience.

The survey shows that there is a lot of confusion around Listed Building Consent as not everyone knows what types of work require the consent. It can also seem like a long and complex process, which also puts owners off. For clear advice, take a look at Historic England’s LBC page here.

General Maintenance can be carried out without consent

It is however ok to carry out general maintenance without consent. The survey has shown that historic building owners take good care of their properties, with two thirds of them carrying out regular maintenance (which is incredibly important if you’re welcoming guests to your property).

45% of owners clear gutters and pipes annually (which we recommend as a minimum), whilst 36% clear roof coverings and chimneys annually (which again is a minimum figure you should be adhering to).

Only 10% of listed building owners paint and repairs windows and doors every year, with 58% opting to do this every 2 to 5 years.

Maintaining your listed building to a high standard isn’t just good for the property itself, it is also great for drawing in holiday let visitors, who as you know, come with increasing expectations and standards each and every year.

Boshers are specialist providers of Listed Holiday Home Insurance. For more information on how a specialist insurer can help and support your holiday home business, please give us a call on 01237 429444. 

Follow this link for posts similar to Insurance for Listed Holiday Lets with Heritage and other useful resources for holiday home owners.

You may also find the following post for Listed Holiday Let owners of interest:

Insurance for Listed Holiday Lets
Insurance for Listed Holiday Lets

Hucksteps Row, Rye, Sussex, Grade II Listed, Kent and Sussex Holiday Cottages

When we search for a holiday many of us will look to the nearest beach, others toward finding a secluded spot in the countryside, maybe even a combination of both that will keep our young family occupied for a full week.

No matter what you’re looking for, one thing you’ll never be short of in the United Kingdom is heritage. There are no fewer than 380,000 listed buildings on our shores, and with many of them now able to be used as holiday homes we take a look at the unique insurance requirements that come with owning your very own slice of history.

Specialist Insurance for Listed Holiday Lets 

As the owner of a listed property you’ll no doubt be familiar with the sometimes stringent guidelines and regulations surrounding your holiday home. For this reason we offer listed property owners a specialist and bespoke policy, understanding that because your holiday home is like no other, your insurance shouldn’t be either.

Here are just a few of the areas you’ll be covered for when you choose our insurance for listed holiday lets:

Archaeological Costs up to £250,000

Damage to a holiday home can be potentially catastrophic, particularly in lost bookings, expense and the stress of returning your property to its former glory.  With listed buildings this process can also be complex; you may require archaeological or rescue work to salvage original materials in order to perform the necessary restorations.

Our policy covers these costs for you, meaning you’ll have the support and understanding of Boshers when it comes to the requirements placed on you by local authorities.

20% of your sum insured to meet local council requirements

If a listed property is damaged the local council will often impose certain conditions upon the restoration of the property.  We know and understand this process, so our policy offers a further 20% of your buildings sum insured to cover the expense of meeting these requirements in the event your property is damaged as the result of an insured event, such as fire or flood.

Loss of rental income

If your holiday home does become uninhabitable as the result of something outside your control such as fire or flood it can have serious financial consequences.  Restoring a listed property will often take longer than a standard holiday home, meaning the potential loss of income can be even greater.

If the worst does happen our insurance Policy really is here to support you.

Our Loss of Income cover means you’ll not need to foot the bill for the potential loss of bookings and cancellations you have to make while you get your property ready to take guests again.

Experience tells us that whilst in an ideal world all bookings would be made early, for some a higher proportion will be taken at the last minute. We’ll be able to look at bookings taken for a similar period in previous years in order to make sure you get the right amount of cover for the losses you’re incurring.

Experience and Expertise

When you insure your listed property with Boshers you’ll not only benefit from more than 20 years of specialist holiday home insurance experience, you’ll also be teaming up with the UK’s leader in providing insurance for properties just like yours.

Our Policies are underwritten by Ecclesiastical, who insure more Grade I listed buildings than any other insurer, including 42 of the 43 cathedrals in the UK.

Together you can be sure you’ll get the perfect blend of holiday home and listed building experience, ensuring you have the cover that you need.

Boshers are specialist providers of Listed Holiday Home Insurance. For more information on how a specialist insurer can help and support your holiday home business, please give us a call on 01237 429444. 

Follow this link for posts similar to Insurance for Listed Holiday Lets with Heritage and other useful resources for holiday home owners.

You may also find the following post for Listed Holiday Let owners of interest:

Listed Holiday Home Insurance

Marketing a Listed Holiday Home and telling a story

Listed Holiday Home

As a nation we’re a traditional bunch; committed not only to celebrating our history but also protecting our heritage. One challenge for owners of heritage holiday homes and holiday cottages is how to approach marketing a Listed holiday home to attract more bookings. From 17th century forts to traditional country cottages there are more than 375,000 listed buildings across the UK.

English Heritage explains listed buildings help us to acknowledge and understand our shared history, to mark and celebrate a building’s special architectural and historic interest.

95% of those owning and marketing a listed holiday home are likely to be under the Grade II listing; making their property ‘nationally important and of special interest’.

Whilst this may cause planning permission headaches for owners’ eager to make significant changes or develop their home it also provides major opportunities for marketing a listed holiday home by telling a story which differentiates your property from the competition.

The target market for listed building owners

When weighing up the size of the market you’ll perhaps need to look no further than the continued success and popularity of The National Trust, with more than four million members making multiple visits each and every year.

Perhaps more telling is the passion of those members; 80,000 of us now volunteer our time to The Trust and numbers continue to grow.

This enthusiasm is not merely limited to voluntary time and one day excursions; many now actively seek accommodation that matches their interests and will pay a premium to stay. 

Things to consider when marketing a listed holiday home 

65% of listed buildings across the United Kingdom are in excess of 300 years old.  With time comes a story and telling yours will be a vital element to marketing your listed holiday home.

Here are just a few things to consider when telling your story and promoting your listed property:

  • Whilst many websites will predominately be focused toward the mod cons does yours actively tell the story behind the building, the area and the people that created it? Your website will often be the first research port of call for any prospective guest so you’ll need to differentiate and emphasise what makes your listed property different from others they may stay in.
  • Is your story supported by great photography that really shows of the architecture and the uniqueness of the building and its contents? Getting a professional may cost a little but results that do your building justice may well lead to more bookings.
  • Many listed holiday homes have been lovingly restored for their guest’s to enjoy; information on the restoration along with photography can further strengthen someone’s understanding of the property and their relationship or draw to it.
  • Have you considered having a section of your website devoted toward the heritage and the history of your listed holiday home? This needn’t be reams and reams of text; remember your website visitors will be looking to get information quickly so utilise bullet points, short facts, figures and photos.
  • If your potential guests are actively looking to stay in a listed property think about what they’ll want to do during their time away from your holiday home. Are local venues and attractions, such as National Trust and other historical venues covered and promoted?
  • Have you thought of approaching local venues to potentially team up and offer discounted accommodation or admittance, particularly during shoulder or winter months when visitor numbers will likely be significantly lower?
  • Would they be willing to have a link to your holiday home website on their own site? If they are this will not only put you in front of more potential visitors but also have a positive impact on your search engine rankings.
  • Do you highlight local events that could be attended? If you blog in advance of events you’ll rank in Google for those search terms, potentially attracting visitors looking to attend and stay nearby.
  • If you promote your listed property through a letting agent have you told them about the history and what makes your property special?
  • Make sure that your story is not only told through your website but also through every marketing outlet you have. Include information in your tweets and your Google+ and Facebook pages.

All of these points are aimed at emphasising the historic and unique qualities your listed property brings. Sometimes it’s great to stand out from the crowd!

Feel free to leave your tips and experiences of Marketing your Listed Holiday Home in the comments below.

Boshers are specialist providers of Listed Holiday Home Insurance. For more information on how a specialist insurer can help and support your holiday home business, please give us a call on 01237 429444.