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Listed buildings and structures are officially designated as being of special architectural, historical or cultural significance. There are over half a million listed structures in the United Kingdom, covered by around 375,000 listings.
Listed status is more commonly associated with buildings or groups of buildings, however it can cover many other structures, including bridges, headstones, steps, ponds, monuments, walls, phone boxes, wrecks, parks, and heritage sites, and in more recent times a road crossing (Abbey Road) and graffiti art (Banksy 'Spy-booth') have been included.

In England and Wales there are three main listing designations;
Grade I (2.5%) - exceptional interest, sometimes considered to be internationally important.
Grade II* (5.5%) - particularly important buildings of more than special interest.
Grade II (92%) - nationally important and of special interest.

There are also locally listed structures (at the discretion of local authorities) using A, B and C designations.

In Scotland three classifications are also used but the criteria are different. There are around 47,500 Listed buildings.
Category A (8%)- generally equivalent to Grade I and II* in England and Wales
Category B (51%)- this appears generally to cover the ground of Grade II, recognising national importance.
Category C (41%)- buildings of local importance, probably with some overlap with English Grade II.

In Northern Ireland the criteria are similar to Scotland, but the classifications are:
Grade A (2.3%)
Grade B+ (4.7%)
Grade B (93%)

Read more at Wikipedia Link

Grade I listed buildings and structures are of exceptional, even international importance. There are over 6,000 in the country. Only 2.5% of listed buildings are Grade I listed.
In Scotland the classification is Category A
Index: Link

The John Rylands Library was founded by Mrs Enriqueta Augustina Rylands in memory of her late husband, John Rylands, one of the most successful businessmen of Victorian England and Manchester’s first multi-millionaire.

The striking gothic building which dominates the streetscape at the corner of Deansgate and Spinningfield was designed in 1889 by the architect Basil Champneys. The library took ten years to build and was first opened to public readers on 1 January 1900. The initial stock of the Library was 70,000 books and fewer than 100 manuscripts. As the Library's collections grew, the building has been extended four times; first in 1920 and again in 1962 and 1970. In 2003 major refurbishment began which included the construction of a new entrance wing. The library reopened in 2008.

The Library became part of The University of Manchester in 1972 and currently holds the Special Collections of The University of Manchester Library. Mrs Rylands' memorial to her husband is now part of the third largest academic library in the United Kingdom; the building houses over 250,000 printed volumes, and well over a million manuscripts and archival items.

The library was granted Grade I listed status in 1952 (Historic England List Entry Number: 1217800 Link ).


Link Wikipedia article about the library
Link Wikipedia article about John Rylands.