THIRTEEN historic buildings and sites have been added to the Heritage at Risk Register in the North East because they are at risk of neglect, decay or inappropriate development, it has been revealed.
At the same time five sites in the region have been saved and their futures secured.
Historic England has today (Thursday, November 8) revealed its Heritage at Risk Register 2023 which gives an annual snapshot of the health of England’s valued historic buildings and places.
In total in England, there are 4871 entries on the Heritage at Risk Register in 2023 – 48 fewer than in 2022.
Across the North East, significant sites added to the Heritage at Risk Register 2023 include:
Heugh Coastal Artillery Battery in Hartlepool and St Lawrence Church in Byker, Newcastle upon Tyne while significant sites saved and removed from the Heritage at Risk Register 2023 in the North East include All Saints Church in Sockburn, County Durham.
In 2022/2023, Historic England awarded almost £482,000 in repair grants to 22 historic places and sites, including conservation areas, in the North East, on the Heritage at Risk Register over the past year.
Many buildings and sites have been rescued with the help and commitment of local people, communities, charities, owners and funders including The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Historic England’s expert advice, grant aid and creative thinking has also been key in delivering people’s visions for how these historic places can be used again.
However, more work needs to be done as more buildings and places become at risk.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the publication of the first national Heritage at Risk Register (previously known as the Buildings at Risk Register). Over the past 25 years, since it began in 1998, around 6,800 entries have been removed.
Tom Frater, Regional Director for Historic England in the North East and Yorkshire, said: “Protecting our heritage in the North East is so important.
"It is truly inspirational to see communities in the region coming together to save historic places and find new uses for them.
"The Heritage at Risk programme shines a light on our most in-need historic sites, and has a record of attracting funding and practical help.
"After a quarter of a century of the Heritage at Risk Register, we are celebrating the many places that have been saved, as we continue to find new ways to involve local people in caring for and enjoying their heritage."
Arts and Heritage Minister Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay said: “For a quarter of a century, the Heritage at Risk Register has helped to focus efforts to preserve cherished sites across the country.
"It is heartening to see that so many sites have had their futures secured and have been taken off the Register over the past year thanks to the hard work of Historic England and local people.
"I look forward to the new additions to the Register receiving similar care and attention so that future generations can continue to enjoy and learn from our rich heritage for years to come.”
North East sites added to the at register register in 2023 include:
AT RISK:
St Lawrence Church, Byker, Grade II*
Since it was built in 1847, St Lawrence Church has changed both denomination and location. Constructed in the Early English Gothic Revival style to the design of John Dobson, the church was originally built in New Bridge Street for the local Presbyterian community.
However, in 1897, it was demolished and rebuilt in nearby Felton Street to serve the Catholic faith. In the 1970s, the church was then integrated into the new Byker Wall estate, forming part of architect Ralph Erskine’s vision to retain old public buildings as a key feature of the housing development.
St Lawrence Church has been added to the register due to structural concerns caused by subsidence. A full repair plan is currently being developed.
AT RISK:
Heugh Coastal Artillery Battery, Scheduled Monument
Heugh Battery in Hartlepool is best known as the UK’s first and only World War I battlefield.
On 16 December 1914, the coastal artillery battery on Hartlepool’s headland engaged in battle with three German battlecruisers, which were attacking the North East coast.
The German ships shelled Hartlepool, killing over 100 civilians and injuring a further 400. Returning fire, the Heugh Battery guns caused minor damage to the enemy vessels but this is thought to have been enough to cut the bombardment short.
Now run as an independent military museum by Heugh Gun Battery Trust, the site needs significant repair, suffering from concrete decay, metalwork corrosion, poor ventilation and flooding.
Action has already been taken by the Trust to restore the Heugh Battery with Historic England awarding £38,530 to fund specialist surveys to assess the extent of the damage and pay for the development of a repair and maintenance plan.
This work will help to unlock further funding for the repairs to secure the long-term future of the site.
North East sites rescued and removed from the Heritage at Risk Register in 2023 include:
SAVED:
All Saints Church, Sockburn, Scheduled Monument
Sockburn was an important seat of ecclesiastical and manorial power, occupied since the 8th century. The site includes a Norman church – built on the remains of a monastery - which housed an important collection of Viking carved stones.
These stones are believed to be the finest collection of Viking Age sculpture in the country and include intricately decorated gravemarkers from the 9th-10th centuries, with some featuring depictions from Scandinavian myths and another decorated with runic inscriptions.
The site was put on the Heritage at Risk Register in 1999 due to the poor state of repair of the church, as well as the condition of and risk to the carved stones. In 2016 three stones were stolen from the site, two of which were subsequently retrieved from a nearby river.
The work to remove the site from the HAR Register has taken several years. Historic England funded repairs to the church in 2006 and 2010 and then in 2016 it began working with the Durham Diocesan Board of Finance, The Church Commissioners for England and Durham Cathedral to find a long- term solution for the stones.
This involved Durham Diocese, The Church Commissioners and Historic England financing the careful assessment and professional removal of the stones from the church to the safekeeping of Durham Cathedral in 2021, where they underwent specialist conservation work and now form part of the Cathedral’s permanent collection.
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Full list of additions and removals in the North East
Additions
- Defended settlement, 400m west of Titlington Mount, Hedgeley, Northumberland
- Medieval farmstead, 500m ENE of Titlington Mount, Hedgeley, Northumberland
- Bowl barrow 1.1km north-west of High Court Green, Guisborough, Redcar and Cleveland
- Old Fawdon Hill West camp, Ingram, Northumberland
- Ancient settlement Hunterheugh Crags, Hedgeley, Northumberland
- Church of Our Lady and St Columba, Wallsend, North Tyneside
- Stockton & Darlington Railway: Lower Section Of The Southern Etherley Incline, Etherley, County Durham
- Stockton & Darlington Railway: Route Alongside The River Gaunless, Etherley, County Durham
- Stockton & Darlington Railway: Brusselton Inclines, Shildon, County Durham
- St Lawrence Church, Byker Crescent, Newcastle upon Tyne
- Heugh coastal artillery battery immediately north west of Heugh Lighthouse, Hartlepool,
- County Durham Stockton & Darlington Railway: Etherley Inclines, Summit And Upper Sections, Etherley, County Durham
- Bewick Hill camp, Bewick, Northumberland
Removals
- Church of St Hilda, Park Gate, Darlington, County Durham
- Cairn 210m north-east of Westhills Farm, Rothbury, Northumberland
- Victoria Embankment Conservation Area, Darlington,
- County Durham Pike Law lead hushes and mines, Newbiggin,
- County Durham Church of All Saints, Sockburn Lane, Neasham, County Durham
The Heritage at Risk Register 2023 reveals that in the North East:
- 71 Buildings or Structures
- 24 places of worship
- 131 Archaeology
- 6 parks and gardens
- 1 battlefield
- 29 conservation areas
…are at risk of neglect, decay or inappropriate change.
In total, there are 262 entries across the North East on the 2022 Heritage at Risk Register.
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