Churches, bridge and cutlery works among heritage added to at-risk list

Updated

Churches where leading suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst married and author George Eliot worshipped are among the places added to England’s national list of threatened heritage.

One of the oldest purpose-built museums in England, an Elizabethan bridge which collapsed following heavy rain and a purpose-built cutlery works have also been added to the heritage at risk register, Historic England said.

In total 242 sites have been added this year to the register, which has been going for 20 years, but 318 others have been removed as they are no longer considered to be at risk of being lost, the Government heritage agency said.

Wool Bridge, Wool, Dorset has been added to the list (Historic England/PA)
Wool Bridge, Wool, Dorset has been added to the list (Historic England/PA)

Some 1,489 historic buildings and scheduled monuments, 911 places of worship, 2,151 archaeological sites, 99 parks and gardens, four battlefields and four protected wreck sites and 502 conservation areas are listed as at risk of neglect, decay or inappropriate change.

Historic England said two-thirds of the buildings and sites on the original 1998 list have been rescued, often due to the dogged determination of local communities, charities and owners.

Among the buildings added to this year’s at risk list are Grade II* St Luke’s Church in Weaste, Salford, Greater Manchester, where Emmeline Pankhurst married in 1879, which is threatened by damage from a leaking roof.

Wisbech Museum, Cambridgeshire, is one of the oldest purpose-built museums in England but is being damaged by problems with its roof (Historic England/PA)
Wisbech Museum, Cambridgeshire, is one of the oldest purpose-built museums in England but is being damaged by problems with its roof (Historic England/PA)

Holy Trinity Church in Coventry counts Mary Ann Evans – the author George Eliot – as one of its famous parishioners, and survived the Blitz thanks to its vicar and others sleeping in the church during a raid in November 1941 and dousing any fires.

It is on the list as it needs urgent roof repairs to keep it weather-tight.

Wool Bridge in Wool, Dorset, is the best-preserved Elizabeth bridge in the county, but was damaged by heavy rain at the start of the year, though repairs should be completed later this year.

Kasbah conservation area, Grimsby has been added to the heritage at risk register (Historic England/PA)
Kasbah conservation area, Grimsby has been added to the heritage at risk register (Historic England/PA)

Wisbech and Fenland Museum in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, is an almost perfect example of a Victorian museum but is on the list because the roofs of the main building are in very poor condition, with leaks causing serious damage.

The four-storey workshop range of the Beehive Works in Sheffield, a purpose-built cutlery works dating from the 19th century, is in poor condition having suffered structural movement and water ingress.

Also added to this year’s list are the newly designated Kasbah conservation area in Grimsby, the former Feversham Street First School in Bradford, and Whitacre Waterworks in Shustoke, Warwickshire.

Medieval chapel and associated building on St Cuthbert's Isle, Holy Island, have been saved from erosion (Historic England/PA)
Medieval chapel and associated building on St Cuthbert's Isle, Holy Island, have been saved from erosion (Historic England/PA)

Sites removed from the list include the medieval chapel on St Cuthbert’s Island, Holy Island, Northumberland, which has been saved from erosion, and the Large Mansion at Gunnersbury Park, London, which has been repaired.

Grade II* 18th century timber-framed Drinkstone Smock Mill, at Drinkstone, Suffolk, has had repairs to the leaking mill tower or “smock”, and the village lock-up built in Hounslow in 1838 has been fully repaired.

Asthall Barrow, an Anglo-Saxon burial mound near Barrow Farm, Oxfordshire, which was under threat from trees and scrub and burrowing rabbits, has come off the list after work to preserve it.

Large Mansion, Gunnersbury Park, Hounslow, London has been repaired (Historic England/PA)
Large Mansion, Gunnersbury Park, Hounslow, London has been repaired (Historic England/PA)

Milnsbridge House in Huddersfield, which was once home to magistrate Joseph Radcliffe, who played a key role in suppressing the Luddite riots in the Colne Valley, has been saved.

Duncan Wilson, chief executive of Historic England, said: “Over the past 20 years we have used the Heritage at Risk Register to highlight places in need of care and attention.

Asthall Barrow has been saved from overgrowth and rabbits (Historic England/PA)
Asthall Barrow has been saved from overgrowth and rabbits (Historic England/PA)

“We have dedicated time, expertise and money to bring these special but threatened places back into use, and we are proud to have played our part in saving them from neglect.

“Despite the successes, other places continue to fall into disrepair. They have been added to this year’s register and we will focus our attention on them in the years ahead.”

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