Heritage at risk in the South West

Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register for the South West is published today (26th October), giving an annual snapshot of the condition of some of the region’s most important historic buildings, sites, monuments and places.

Across the South West, 91 sites have been removed from the Register because their futures have been secured, while 71 sites have been added to the Register because of concerns about their condition. Over the past year, Historic England has offered £1.76m in grants to help 69 of the region’s best loved and most important historic sites.

The Heritage at Risk Register 2017 reveals that in the South West, 156 Grade I and II* buildings, 1,119 scheduled monuments, 179 places of worship, 16 registered parks and gardens, 1 battlefield and 36 conservation areas are at risk of neglect, decay or inappropriate change. There are 1,507 assets on the South West Register, 29 fewer than in 2016. 

John Ette, Heritage at Risk Principal for Historic England in the South West said: “The South West region is home to more than a quarter of all heritage ‘at risk’ sites across England and so there’s a lot of work for us to do. We are pleased to report that we have been able to conserve a high number of buildings and sites in the past year that might otherwise have been lost, and it must be said that our success has often been the result of productive partnership working with councils, volunteers, local civic groups and developers. Our thanks go to the people and organisations that have joined forces with us to protect our heritage in Devon and Cornwall.”

Highlights from this year’s Register:

SITES ADDED

ADDED: Trevethy Quoit, Cornwall

Trevethy Quoit is an outstanding example of a chambered tomb (also known as a portal dolmen) dating from the Early Neolithic period and is one of the best known archaeological monuments in Cornwall. Added to the Register in 2016, there was a risk to the monument as a result of increased erosion by livestock as well damage to the field and land caused by fencing. When the site came up for sale, we helped to safeguard it by giving a £19,000 grant to the Cornish Heritage Trust to purchase the field. We are now working with the Trust and English Heritage to improve the site, protect the monument and ensure that it can still be enjoyed by local people and visitors. We hope to remove the site from the Register in the next couple of years.

PROGRESS MADE

PROGRESS: Mount Batten Tower, Plymouth

Mount Batten Tower was built during the Commonwealth period (1649-1659) for protection against the Dutch following the introduction of trading monopolies – it held up to 10 guns on the upper floor. The tower was named after William Batten who had commanded the Naval forces that had made resistance against the Royalists throughout the Civil War possible. But in the last two decades the tower’s remains suffered from lack of maintenance, occasional vandalism and water damage, and so we grant aided a survey of the tower and vegetation clearance. We also funded, in partnership with the Coastal Revival Fund, repairs and regeneration works which were completed earlier this year. The site is no longer ‘at risk’ and we expect that it will come off the Register soon.

PROGRESS: The Gun Battery at Brazen Ward, Lundy Island, Devon

Perched on cliffs above the Atlantic Ocean and pounded by extreme weather conditions, this Gun Battery, which was constructed during the 16th or early 17th century, has been repaired as part of a partnership project led by Historic England, the Landmark Trust and the National Trust. Skilled conservation stone masons have carried out the repairs and the Gun Battery will soon be removed from the Register after conservation of the rare Crimean cannon is completed. There are also archaeological remains in the waters surrounding Lundy Island, which sits in the Bristol Channel - over 150 shipwrecks are already recorded.

PROGRESS: Shaugh Moor, South Hams, Devon

Located on the moorland of Shaugh Moor is an outstanding example of a prehistoric farmed landscape. The archaeology includes stone hut circle settlements, ancient field boundaries and religious monuments, including a stone row and ten round cairns. This rich heritage provides a fascinating glimpse into how our ancestors used, lived and worshiped on Dartmoor 3,500 years ago. But in recent years the landscape has suffered due to reduced livestock grazing and an increase in bracken and shrub (gorse) growth which is damaging to the archaeology. Work has begun to clear back the bracken and gorse from the most vulnerable areas with the assistance of a local volunteer conservation group and the support of the land owner and local farmers.

SITES REMOVED

REMOVED: HMS Colossus shipwreck, off the Isles of Scilly

The South West has a rich maritime history, including shipwrecks. HMS Colossus – an 18th-century warship off the Isles of Scilly – is no longer at immediate risk following a campaign by Historic England, alongside other enforcement agencies, to raise awareness of the wreck. Pioneering stabilisation work to the seabed was also carried out. HMS Colossus was a 74-gun ship built at Gravesend, and launched in 1787. Her last naval engagement was at the Battle of Cape St Vincent (1797), during which she was badly damaged. The Colossus was stripped of her stores to repair the serving ships, and ordered to return to England, carrying wounded from the battle, along with prize items and part of a collection of Greek antiquities amassed by Sir William Hamilton.

REMOVED: Devon and Exeter Institution, Exeter, Devon

In the winter of 2009, following heavy snowfall, cracks developed in the plasterwork of the domes of this Grade II* listed building. Conservation engineers found significant problems with the roof beams it was added to the Register. We grant-funded extensive and complex roof repairs, which were completed in spring 2017 and the works have resulted in the removal of the 15th century building from the Register. The Devon and Exeter Institution welcomes visitors to the building and its collection.

REMOVED: Deer Park Wall, Dartington Hall, Totnes, Devon

Dartington’s historic Deer Park Wall was built in 1738. The wall is of mortared limestone rubble and was built along the outside of the original medieval Deer Park pale (a fence made from wooden stakes to keep the deer in). Seriously at risk of collapse, restoration works began which included scrub clearance, ivy removal, and sourcing and replacing missing stones to conserve the wall – using traditional methods. The wall is now off the Register but works continue and the plan is to create new walks through the surrounding parkland for the public to enjoy.