A large hall space with stone walls and a wooden barrel-vaulted ceiling. Stained glass windows and hung banners and curtains add colour to the space.
King Arthur's Great Halls and its rich interiors and collections are now at risk due to the deterioration of the roofs, which is allowing water into the building. The street frontage and roof were perilously close to structural failure and have been repaired recently. © Historic England. DP276103
King Arthur's Great Halls and its rich interiors and collections are now at risk due to the deterioration of the roofs, which is allowing water into the building. The street frontage and roof were perilously close to structural failure and have been repaired recently. © Historic England. DP276103

Historic England Reveals its Heritage at Risk Register 2022

Today, Historic England publishes its Heritage at Risk Register for 2022. The Register gives an annual snapshot of the critical health of England’s most valued historic places and those most at risk of being lost as a result of neglect, decay or inappropriate development.

Over the past year, 175 historic buildings and sites have been added to the Register because of their deteriorating condition and 233 sites have been saved and their futures secured.

Restored, rescued, and brought back to life

Many have been rescued thanks to the hard work and dedication of local communities, who have come together to save places.

Charities, owners, local councils, and Historic England have also worked together to see historic places restored, re-used, and brought back to life.

Gallery

These include two sections of Hadrian’s Wall, the ‘Dome of Home’ at the entrance to the River Mersey, the museum which houses the original manuscript of Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations, and one of only two moving bridges on the River Thames. Click to see larger images

A priest in cassock stands on the roof of a church, looking up at a large brick-built, copper dome. Yellow brick Georgian town building on a stepped square with graveyard in the foreground. A high angle shot of a large brick-built column, with windows at regular intervals down its height. Houses in the background are dwarfed by its size. A clean low metal structure alongside a canal channel, with a modern rail bridge in the background. A medium-sized red brick stately home with modern windows and clean repointing. A large brick manor trimmed with off-white moulding, set in grounds. A woman walks alongside a low stone wall covered with turf. The stone tower of a ruined church against a vivid sunset. A person in a red jacket stands at the top.
As the threat of climate change grows, the reuse and sensitive upgrading of historic buildings and places becomes ever more important. Finding new uses for buildings and sites rescued from the Register avoids the high carbon emissions associated with demolishing structures and building new.
Duncan Wilson, Chief Executive Historic England

Funding sources

Historic England awarded £8.66 million in repair grants to 185 sites on the Heritage at Risk Register in 2021/22. In addition, 15 sites have benefitted from £3.25 million in grants from the heritage at risk strand of the Culture Recovery Fund during 2021/22. These grants help with emergency repairs to historic buildings and help protect the livelihoods of the skilled craft workers who keep our cherished historic places alive.

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At risk of neglect, decay or inappropriate change

 Examples include Papplewick Pumping Station in Nottingham - England’s only pumping station to still have all its original features, King Arthur’s Great Halls in Tintagel, experimental concrete homes in Essex, and the Tank House in Merseyside - the best surviving example of a late 19th century glass-making tank furnace. Click images to enlarge

A large red-brick building and tower stand beyond a body of water, surrounded by conifer trees. A large hall space with stone walls and a wooden barrel-vaulted ceiling. Stained glass windows and hung banners and curtains add colour to the space. A row of colourful single-storey cottages, with flowers outside, and fairy lights hanging along a narrow street. A red-brick industrial institute building on a street corner with modern glass skyscrapers in the background. A slate-covered house with a sign saying "Antique Exports". A low wall separates it from the road in front. Aerial view of a large stone church with buttresses and arched windows. Ruined stonework at both ends suggests where the structure used to be much larger. An industrial building on a canal bank, connected to the opposite bank by a long, glass-enclosed walkway. Modern squared-off earthworks are visible among undergrowth and plant life. Woodland in the background surrounds the structure. A large dressed-stone free-standing monument fountain, surrounded by four lamps. Chain-link fencing in the background and bent modern railings separate it from the road. A brick bottle-shaped structure situated in a wooded area.
Historic England's Heritage at Risk Register plays a vital role in our ongoing mission to protect and preserve our rich heritage across the country. It helps to ensure that future generations can continue to benefit from everything our historic sites and buildings have to offer. It is also wonderful to see so many heritage sites removed from the Register thanks to the support of local communities - together with Historic England.
Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay Heritage Minister

Heritage at Risk in your area

Click an area on the map for your region's Heritage at Risk stories.

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Related publications

Heritage at Risk 2022 Registers
Published 10 November 2022

Also of interest

High Streets Heritage Action Zones
Caring for Heritage