”Its listing at Grade II is testament to its design and also highlights how
the UK’s unique heritage reflects all parts of our culture and history.

”I hope the protection provided by this listing ensures the pool, moguls and
snake run can be enjoyed for years to come.”

Built and designed by Adrian Rolt and G-Force, the leading skatepark designers
of the period, the Rom follows the Bro Bowl in Tampa, Florida, in achieving
listed status.

The Tampa park was added to the USA’s National Register of Historic Places in
October last year.

Roger Bowdler, designation director at English Heritage, said: ”Skateboarding
is more than a sport: it has become a world-wide cult.

”The Rom is the finest example in England to this aspect of youth culture,
and we are delighted its special interest will be protected for future
generations through listing.

”It gives the whole idea of heritage an extra twist.”

The Rom, which occupies 8,000 square metres, features a series of bowls and
hollows and was among a rash of skateparks built as a skateboarding craze
swept Britain in the 1970s.

Many were later demolished as the sport’s popularity declined.

It is a rare survivor and has become one of the most influential sites in
British skateboarding culture, English Heritage said.

Made from seamless pressurised concrete, it is closely based on Californian
skateparks.

These were themselves inspired by the urban spaces – including oval and
kidney-shaped swimming pools belong to the Los Angeles elite – colonised by
pioneer skaters.

The listing coincides with the publication of English Heritage’s Played in
London – a book charting the spaces, buildings and sports that have shaped
London’s cultural and urban landscape for over two millennia.

Author Simon Inglis said: ”When most of us think of sporting heritage we
conjure up images of Victorian cricket pavilions, of old football shirts or
of Edwardian swimming baths.

”But skateboarding has now been part of the nation’s recreational life for
over 35 years, since it arrived in Britain from California at the height of
the 1970s. Some of the pioneers are now grandparents, passing on their
skills and enthusiasm to the next generation.

”Lots of people thought that like Chopper bikes and Space Hoppers the fad
would soon pass, but as we can see in London alone, where there are at least
75 skateparks currently in use, skateboarding is still as cool as ever, and
has received a real boost thanks to the growing number of BMX bikers, who
now shares the facilities at most skateparks.”

He added that researchers ”honed in on” the Rom because of the six or seven
survivors from the 1970s, it retains more of its original features than any
other site.

”I really hope that ‘the Rom’ will now become a place of pilgrimage for young
skateboarders wanting to learn more about the sport’s early days, and have a
brilliant time while doing so,” Mr Inglis said.