Nearly 200 historic places in England have been added to Historic England's heritage at risk register, according to The Guardian, including a castle founded under William the Conqueror, the wooden chalet where Charles Dickens wrote, and moorland scarred by wildfire.
The register, published on Thursday, now carries almost 5,000 entries in total. Alongside roughly 1,500 secular buildings and 1,000 places of worship, it lists three battlefields and four wreck sites. The 197 new additions were announced as Historic England also confirmed that 85 sites had been repaired and removed from the list.
Hastings Castle in East Sussex and Dickens' writing retreat in Kent are among the most recognisable names to join. So is Fylingdales Moor in North Yorkshire, where a wildfire in summer 2025 damaged about 25 sq km of moorland and forest, according to North Yorkshire fire and rescue service. The Guardian reports that Historic England has been working with the North York Moors National Park Authority, using drones to assess the harm.
Why it matters
Historic England's joint chief executive, Emma Squire, said the additions were varied and acknowledged that some people would be taken aback to see well-known landmarks on the list. She told reporters that even places many regard as very special can face decay or loss.
Squire pointed to the climate as a growing factor. She said more extreme weather and coastal erosion were clear themes in this year's register, and that water damage and subsidence now appear more often than in the past because weather patterns are shifting. The heritage minister, Fiona Twycross, said the register served as a reminder of the pressures on England's historic environment, from ageing structures and structural decline to the effects of severe weather.
The register is not only a record of loss. Historic England said it awarded more than £12m in grants during 2025-26 to support and repair 135 sites on the list.
A castle, a chalet and a windmill
Hastings Castle traces its origins to the Norman period, and its inclusion underlines Historic England's point that even monuments tied to major national events are not immune. The Guardian notes it was built under William the Conqueror.
Dickens' chalet in Rochester is a two-storey timber building that once stood in the author's garden at Gads Hill Place in Higham, Kent. It gave him a place to work without interruption, and he is believed to have arranged mirrors inside so he could practise for public readings and try out new characters. The structure was relocated to Rochester in the 1960s and is now judged fragile and in need of repair.
Also added is Hall's Croft in Stratford-upon-Avon, the historic home of Shakespeare's daughter. The Guardian reports that money is needed to safeguard the exterior of the 17th-century timber-framed building, including fixing damage from a vehicle strike. In Wirral, Merseyside, the 18th-century Bidston windmill joins the list; a friends group keeps it open to visitors, but urgent repairs are required, and the site offers wide views over Liverpool and the Welsh hills.
Sites brought back from the brink
Historic England also highlighted recoveries. Newlyn harbour in Cornwall, one of the county's key fishing ports, has come off the register after local specialists restored its granite walls and 19th-century wrought iron railings.
In north London, the Georgian terrace at 810 Tottenham High Road has been rescued from dereliction by Tottenham Hotspur FC with backing from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. It now houses artists' studios, galleries and a cafe.
In Gloucestershire, Edward Jenner's rustic summerhouse in Berkeley — described as the location of the world's first vaccination clinic — has also been saved, The Guardian reports.
What to watch: whether funding follows the new listings, particularly for the chalet, Hall's Croft and Bidston windmill, and whether next year's register shows climate-driven damage spreading further.
