Hundreds of historic sites are in danger of being lost
HUNDREDS of Britain’s most historic sites are in critical danger of being lost forever, a report warns.
A total of 216 buildings or other landscape features have been added to the nation’s annual Heritage at Risk Register in the past 12 months.
Buckden Towers, a 12th- century fortified house in St Neots, Cambs, has made it on to the register compiled by government heritage agency Historic England.
The Grade I- listed St James Gardens cemetery in Liverpool, which is built into an old stone quarry, has also been added to the list after years of neglect, invasive vegetation and poor repairs.
Brighter
Among others at risk is the Ragged School Museum in Tower Hamlets, east London.
The Grade II- listed Redoubt in Harwich, Essex, a fortification built to guard against Napoleonic invasion, and Dobson’s Windmill in Burgh le Marsh, Lincs, make the list.
Another entry is Grade I- listed Plume Library, including the tower of the former church of St Peter in Maldon, Essex, which contains 7,000 volumes and is at risk of collapse.
Madeira Terrace in Brighton, which has 880 yards of iron railings in need of major repairs, is also in danger.
This year’s additions to the register bring the combined number of places on it to 5,097.
They include 1,475 buildings and structures, 2,090 archaeological sites, 932 places of worship, 103 registered parks and gardens, 491 conservation areas, three battlefields and three protected wrecks.
However there is better news for Newington Green Meeting House, a north London church known as the “birthplace of feminism”, and Cadbury Castle, a Somerset hillfort thought to be the legendary Camelot of King Arthur.
They are among 181 historic sites which have been restored to the point where they could be taken off the register this year.
Historic England chief executive Duncan Wilson said: “It is the varied tapestry of our historic places that helps us define who we are.
“The 181 places rescued this year show us that good progress is being made, but there is a long way to go.
“Many more historic buildings and places need caring for, financial support and community engagement to give them a brighter future.”
The Redoubt in Harwich, top, Dobson’s Windmill, St James Gardens and the Ragged School Museum all make register