The unparished area contains 53 buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England as designated listed buildings.
The major building in the town is Astley Hall; this and structures associated with it are listed.
Before the arrival of industry in the 19th century, much of the area was rural, and a number of the listed buildings are, or originated as, farmhouses or farm buildings.
Industry itself has resulted in only two listed buildings, a surviving cotton mill chimney, and loomshops in the basements of a row of houses.
The Leeds and Liverpool Canal and the former Bolton and Preston Railway pass through the town, and there are listed structures associated with both of these, The other listed buildings include churches, chapels and houses, and structures associated with them, and public houses.