To answer these questions English Heritage has completed the first phase of a modern Domesday Book of the threatened parts of our cities, towns and countryside. Entitled Heritage At Risk, the project's first annual report, launched today (Tuesday 8 July), reveals that overall, of the 70,000 protected heritage sites assessed so far, no fewer than 1 in 12 is at high risk of neglect or decay or inappropriate change. And in the North East, there are more than 120 Grade I and Grade II listed buildings and structural monuments at risk.
In the North East, key sites at risk include Tarset Castle, near Bellingham in Northumberland. For centuries, the castle played a key role in defending Tynedale against the Scots. Dating back to 1267, it was a strategically vital fortress, close to the border and had a turbulent past. Today, what remains of the castle faces a new enemy - erosion. Landslips caused by the nearby Tarset Burn are destabilising the mound that the castle stands on. If nature were left to take its course, it would result in the inevitable loss of this scheduled monument and its nationally important archaeological deposits.
Other sites on the at-risk register include Dunston Staiths on the River Tyne; the site of the battle of Newburn Ford in Newcastle; Bowes railway and Springwell Colliery; and Woolsington Park on the outskirts of Newcastle.
Carol Pyrah, English Heritage's Planning and Development Regional Director in the North East, said: "Although we can take some comfort in the fact that significant progress has been made on numerous sites across the North East, the region has actually suffered a net gain in the number of sites at risk and the need for action is as urgent as ever.
"Whilst grant aid remains important, money is not always the most vital ingredient in the conservation mix. Brokering solutions in partnership with owners, local authorities and other interested parties remains a key part of the recipe for success."
The new Heritage At Risk project extends the winning formula of English Heritage's Buildings at Risk Register (which since it began in 1998 has seen 45% of entries saved), to scheduled monuments and archaeology, registered historic landscapes, parks, gardens and battlefields and even protected wreck sites off our coasts.
Over the next few years, conservation areas, listed places of worship and Grade II buildings will be added to make England the first country in the world to have a comprehensive picture of every bit of its protected heritage at risk and the analysis to save it.
Lord Bruce-Lockhart, Chairman of English Heritage, Chairman of English Heritage, said: "The results of our first Heritage At Risk report show that everybody must live near, walk past or know of a heritage treasure at risk near them. We hope that our Heritage At Risk Register will galvanise the nation into action before it is too late and help us save the best of the past for the future.
"The Victorian schools and town halls threatened with closure, the near derelict railway stations, unstable remains of ruined abbeys, the eroded Iron-age hill forts, the vandalised standing stones, the crumbling pill box on the beach, the overgrown country park, and the rusting colliery winding gear against the sky: neglect and decay are sadly familiar to us all. These are places, buildings and landscapes that have the potential to shape the quality and even the course of our lives. Yet their future is uncertain.
"That is why we have launched the Heritage At Risk register, to save this precious and finite resource for the future. England's scheduled monuments and archaeological remains provide the only record of human activity for millennia during which we had no written history. Our historic parks and gardens embody one of our greatest passions as a nation. England's battlefields are, as Sir Winston Churchill said, 'the punctuation marks of history' and very many of us will have ancestors who fell on them and whose bones still lie beneath. And the protected wrecks off England's coasts bear unique and fragile witness to our great maritime past.
"In today's fast-changing society this heritage is arguably more important than ever, providing a sense of permanence and continuity, a focus for social cohesion and a sense of identity as well as a catalyst for regeneration and good new design.
"The public too, has a role to play. We want people to help us spot what is going on near them, let us know, talk to their local authority's Conservation Officer and find out if and how they can get involved. Join an Amenity Society or campaign with a Residents Group. Poll after poll shows how much the public cares about its heritage. Now, with the Heritage At Risk report in our hands, it is time for action!"
The Heritage At Risk Report also reveals what the true enemies of heritage are. They include ploughing, scrub and tree growth, lack of funds, neglectful owners, burrowing animals, inappropriate development, vandalism and natural erosion.
Lord Bruce Lockhart continued: "The Heritage At Risk project is at the heart of what English Heritage can do for the nation. It gives us all, for the first time, the big picture and the tools to interrogate it. It helps our experts to prioritise action to deal with the most urgent cases. We can identify what types of heritage are vulnerable to what types of threat and our experts can recommend solutions that will work all over the country."
The Heritage At Risk website contains more information on this project, a film presented by Dr Simon Thurley, Chief Executive of English Heritage, plus access to the on-line Register - www.english-heritage.org.uk/risk
