Historic England recently published its Heritage at Risk Register for 2022. Updated every year, the list provides crucial information as to the state of England’s historic buildings and places, highlighting sites that are most at risk from neglect, decay, or inappropriate development. But just as important as those added are the sites that have been successfully rescued and removed from the list, often through the hard work of volunteers, community groups, charities, owners, and councils working together with Historic England.
This year more sites have been removed from the Register than added, with 233 sites deemed to have been saved and delisted, while 175 sites were added. In general, the trend continues to head in the right direction, with a total of 4,919 entries now on the list, 66 fewer than last year.
‘At-risk’ sites added to the Register this year span the length and breadth of England and include some notable entries, such as the Victorian waterworks Papplewick Pumping Station in Nottingham – England’s only pumping station to still have all its original features – and the Tank House at World of Glass in Merseyside, which is the best-surviving example of a late 19th-century glassmaking tank furnace.
Several important sites have been removed from the list, including two sections of Hadrian’s Wall: Steel Rigg in Northumberland and Port Carlisle in Cumbria. This achievement is due to collaboration between the WallCAP project at Newcastle University and Historic England as well as funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund (see CA 390).
Commenting on this year’s updated Register, Duncan Wilson, Chief Executive of Historic England, said: ‘It is central to Historic England’s mission that we pass on to future generations the rich legacy of historic buildings and places that we have inherited from previous generations. Our Heritage at Risk programme is a key contributor to this ambition. With the help of local communities and partners, imaginative thinking, and business planning, we can bring historic places back to life.’
