HISTORIC England says the number of listed buildings and sites in England has reached 400,000.

The milestone was hit when the 1930s headquarters of bicycle manufacturer Raleigh was given protected status.

The Howitt Building in Nottingham, built in 1931, has been listed at Grade II by the Government on the advice of Historic England, its heritage agency.

Also newly added to the country's official heritage list are the Art Deco terminal at Birmingham Airport, Plymouth's Theatre Royal and a 200-year-old cottage in Shropshire which once housed animals and their owner under one roof.

The new listings take the total number of historic buildings, monuments, battlefields, shipwrecks, designated landscapes and World Heritage Sites which are protected through listed status to 400,000.

"The list is a treasure trove of special historic places that demonstrates the rich variety of England's history," said Historic England chief executive Duncan Wilson.

"Reaching 400,000 entries is a milestone - it confirms just how important our heritage is and how much deserves protecting for future generations."

The Raleigh Cycle Company was the world's leading maker of bikes when the head office was built in 1931, producing more than a million bicycles a year at its height.

The Howitt Building has decorative panels showing cherubic children holding bicycle parts and using tools of the trade. Today it is home to offices and a community centre and ballroom named after the Jamaican activist, poet and journalist Marcus Garvey.

The Art Deco Elmdon terminal at Birmingham Airport, a 1930s Moderne-style terminal and a reminder of an era when aviation was at its most glamorous, has been listed at Grade II.

It was the original terminal building when the airport opened in 1939, housing a bar, tea lounge and restaurant, with concrete "wings" and viewing balconies.