155 sites added to heritage at risk register

Heritage England has published its Heritage at Risk Register 2024, featuring 155 new entries.

The register, which provides an annual snapshot of England’s heritage buildings and places at risk, adds buildings and sites in danger of neglect, decay or inappropriate developments.

This year 69 buildings and structures, 55 places of worship, 24 archaeology sites, one park and six conservation areas have been added. There are now 4,891 entries on the list, 20 more than last year’s edition.

Sites added to the register this year include Wigan’s Queens Hall Methodist MIssion, a Grade-II listed concert hall, and County Durham’s Heighington & Aycliffe Railway Station dating from 1826, which is considered the world’s first railway station.

Waltham Windmill in Lincolnshire, one of the UK’s only working six-sail windmills, and Staffordshire’s Tamworth Castle, which has a history dating back over 1,000 years, are also now on the list.

Continues…

They are joined by the Kitchen Garden of Somerleyton Hall, a Victorian-era glasshouse in Suffolk, Westminster’s Grade-I listed Smith Square Hall, a Baroque church and concert venue, and Dover’s Roman Painted House, the remains of an early third century AD building.

124 sites saved

Heritage England has also revealed details of the 124 sites removed from the register in the last year.

They include 44 buildings and structures, 23 places of worship, 45 archaeology sites, two parks and gardens and ten conservation areas.

Among the sites taken off the list is Sherborne House in Dorset. Built around 1720, it has been transformed into an art venue led by local architecture practice SPASE.

Other sites that have been transformed include Calverley Old Hall in West Yorkshire, which has been turned into a self-catering holiday accommodation and Stoke Newington’s Abney Park Cemetery and its Grade-II listed chapel, which has become a green oasis for the local community.

St Pancras Old Church in London was removed following the completion of essential repairs, while Saltdean Lido in Brighton and Hove was taken off the list after featuring for 13 years.

Continues…

Heritage England says many buildings and sites are rescued with the help and commitment of local people, communities, charities, owners and funders. And it awarded £8.14m in grants for repairs to 191 sites on the Heritage and Risk Register during the last year.

“It’s inspirational to see how we can harness the power of our heritage to benefit local people. Together, we can save our places and find new ways to enjoy our valued heritage.”