British Petrol Stations Receive Architectural Honor

Two 1960s British petrol stations were on Tuesday awarded Grade II protected status, fuelling interest in an establishment whose architecture is usually associated with drab uniformity.

English Heritage awarded the accolades to a UFO-style winged station on the A1 at Markham Moor in Nottinghamshire and a second station with six 'parasols' over the pumps in Birstall, Leicestershire -- both in central England.

"Back in the beginning of the sixties, motoring was still exciting, but somehow we began to fall out of love with the car," said John Minnis from English Heritage.

Minnis explained that the concave concrete roof of the Markham Moor building, which is now used a roadside restaurant, had used the cutting-edge technology of the day.

The Esso station on the A6 in Birstall, designed by US architect Eliot Noyes in the 1960s, is the last remaining one of its kind in Britain.

Despite the award, Minnis stressed that the stations could still be developed.

"It's saying that these buildings are special and that in any future plans you have to take into consideration their architectural interest," he said.