CONTEXT 189 : SEPTEMBER 2026 39 INFRASTRUCTURE Preston’s ‘Mother’ mural on the Grade II listed former Conservative working men’s club, next to Preston Minster (also Grade II listed) (Photo: Duncan Marks) A proposed and refused mural design for the Grade I listed Holy Trinity Church, Colchester DUNCAN MARKS Murals and the heritage dilemma There is a paradox about murals on listed buildings: some, often installed without permission, are later celebrated and retained, while proactive proposals rarely succeed. Over the past two decades, street art and largescale murals have moved from vandalism to celebrated expressions of place and identity. Cities like Bristol, Belfast and Glasgow host mural festivals; towns commission artists to animate blank walls; and Banksy has become a cultural icon.Yet this enthusiasm collides with a heritage system tasked with managing change in the historic environment. Even painting a wall can trigger the need for listed building consent, and murals in conservation areas are tightly controlled. What the public sees as enlivening, conservation officers may view as a risk to fabric and authenticity. This article explores that paradox: how murals are increasingly seen as cultural heritage and placemaking, yet remain difficult to reconcile with heritage protection when placed on listed buildings. Conservation is sometimes caricatured as freezing the past, but its purpose is to manage change with care. Murals challenge this by being time-bound and ephemeral, bringing present voices into dialogue with the historic environment. For communities, murals express pride and memory. The 1970s–80s saw a spread of community murals celebrating working-class culture and protesting decline. Historic England’s 2023 study Murals and the Community Arts in England, 1968–86 argues that these works are now part of our heritage. Yet while postwar murals are celebrated – and the Twentieth Century Society campaigns for their listing – new murals face tighter restrictions. Policy focuses on safeguarding fabric and appearance, with interventions judged against potential harm to significance. Fame or rejection Many celebrated murals on listed buildings were unauthorised, appearing overnight, gaining popularity and becoming difficult to remove.
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