Historic England has unveiled the latest chapter in the fight to save important heritage in 20th of year of the national Register of Heritage at Risk (HAR), with headlines including:
- Two-thirds of entries from the original 1998 Register have been removed
- This year, 318 entries have been removed from the Register, while 242 entries have been added
- Sites added include the church where Emmeline Pankhurst got married and the church where George Eliot worshipped, in the year when the nation celebrates the centenary of some women getting the vote
- One of the oldest purpose-built museums in England at risk
- Future secured for a medieval chapel on Holy Island, as well as Hounslow’s village lock-up and a smock mill in Suffolk.
Claudia Kenyatta, Director of Regional Delivery at HE writes:
Historic England’s 2018 Heritage at Risk Register is published today. This marks 20 years from the publication of our first ever Register of Buildings at Risk across England. The fantastic news is that in 2018 over two thirds of buildings and structures that were on the 1998 Register are now safe. However there is still much work to be done.
Through our Heritage at Risk programme we continue to record and understand the condition of our nation’s built heritage, working towards solutions. We have dedicated Heritage at Risk specialists in our regional offices and they have a strong record of success in working with owners, local communities and funding partners to secure the reuse of our shared heritage. Our regional teams also make effective use of our own grant budget, and last year Historic England gave grant aid of £9.9m to 236 projects. This grant aid is often the first step to securing the future of a site and helps give confidence to other funders as their support is sought.
It’s our experience that the impact of saving a Heritage at Risk site goes far beyond physical repair. The statistics in the register underpin many stories of communities coming together to rescue and reuse a much loved local landmark and saved heritage delivering wider regeneration with tangible economic and social benefits. To read more of these inspiring stories please follow this link and:
- Read our leaflet
- See the top 20 rescues of the last 20 years
- Watch our celebratory film
- Find out what we’re doing to help historic places in your area.
You’ll also be seeing more of these stories in the press over the next few days.
Do also visit our website for our fully searchable database or to find out more.
