It has been a time of change in the ways the historic environment is regarded. On the plus side, most people now see characterful historic neighborhoods as assets to be cherished. On the other hand, people are less prepared to accept top-down control and it is a challenge to keep up with modern values about what deserves protection. Roger Bowdler has just stood down from being director of listing at Historic England, the English government’s advisory body on the historic environment, where he was responsible for keeping the National Heritage List for England (a bit like the National Register) and all new recommendations for inclusion.