THE University of Reading's "Lego building" is one of 1,000 places across England which were given protected status in 2016.

A Bronze Age burial site in suburban London, Victorian lamp-posts and Britain's oldest water chute ride were among other, more unusual heritage protected this year.

More than 1,000 places have been given protected status across England in 2016, and government body Historic England has released details of 21 of the most surprising and lesser known sites which are now on the heritage list.

They include rock-carvings by conscientious objectors, a newly exposed shipwreck, a rare "clapper" bridge, gunboat sheds linked to the Crimean War and 18th century artificial bee hives.

Roger Bowdler, director of listing at Historic England, said: "Over 1,000 places have been added to the list in 2016, ensuring the most important sites across the country are recognised and protected.

"Historic England strives to keep the list rich and relevant so that the best of our, often weird and wonderful, heritage can continue to be enjoyed and understood for future generations."

On that list is the post-War "Lego Building", at the University of Reading. It was built between 1970 and 1972, and dubbed the Lego Building because of its distinctive, exposed concrete design. It is listed as a Grade II building.

The building was one of the last major university works by prolific post-war firm Howell, Killick, Partridge & Amis and was completed in 1973.

Mr Bowdler said the 21 sites and structures on the organisation's highlights list aimed to draw attention to some of the lesser-known heritage protected this year but which all play a role in telling people about England's history.

The University building is undergoing a two-year revamp, and developers Hawkins\Brown had to adjust its plans after the Grade II listing

Following the decision made earlier this year, a university spokesperson said: ‘We are looking carefully at the listing decision and will be making the required adjustments to our proposals, subject to final planning permission.

‘We have taken care in our development of the designs to this point to respect the existing building to the extent of consulting with the original architects. We are therefore very conscious of ensuring that we work with the original design.’

Catherine Croft, director of the Twentieth Century Society, welcomed the listing decision.

She said: ‘With its strong silhouette and distinctive form, this is an important building by one of the foremost British architectural practices of the post-war period.

‘We acknowledge that some modernisation needs to be made but we want to ensure that any alterations are conservation-led and in keeping with the integrity of the original design.’

In its listing decision, Historic England said: ‘The building is rigorous and functional, without pretension or grand gesture, and the very low level of alteration is testament to its qualities. It stands comfortably alongside the best post-war university buildings.’