The 27 listed buildings in Runcorn rural area include three at Grade II* and 24 at Grade II. In contrast to the Runcorn urban area, the surrounding borough contains small villages – Clifton, Daresbury, Moore, Preston Brook and Preston on the Hill – which have experienced only limited population growth since the Industrial Revolution, and are still separated by farmland and woodland.
The oldest listed structure is the ruin of Clifton Hall, built in 1565. The three Grade II* listed buildings are All Saints' Church, Daresbury (pictured), dating originally from the 16th century, and two 18th-century former mansion houses, Daresbury Hall and Moore Hall. Many of the structures are related to the network of canals in the area, with several canal bridges, including a swing bridge over the Manchester Ship Canal, a former warehouse, a tunnel entrance, a milepost and two air shafts, as well as a railway viaduct crossing the Weaver Navigation. Other listed buildings include a public house, a former school and a former sessions house, as well as several farmhouses and cottages. The most recent listed structure is a K6-type telephone kiosk dating from the 1930s.