Historic England records good progress on repair work at Newark Parish Church and Southwell Saracen’s Head Hotel as it releases 25th Heritage at Risk Register
Good progress has been made on two at-risk historic buildings in the district.
Historic England today (November 9) released its Heritage at Risk Register, outlining the state of listed and historic buildings in the country.
It has noted good progress on repair and restoration work to two well-known structures: Newark Parish Church, and The Saracen’s Head Hotel, Southwell.
The grade one listed parish church, the Church of St Mary Magdalene, remains on the register — where it has been for a number of years — due to leaking roofs and unstable parapets which make it hard to keep water out.
The church, which dates back to the 12th century, is the tallest structure within the heart of the community and is nationally significant, having one of the tallest spires in England which is famously said to have been hit by a cannon ball in the Civil War.
Historic England, partnering with the National Lottery Heritage Fund, are grant aiding urgent repairs.
A grant application has also been submitted to the lottery fund for the Reawakening St Mary’s project, to support community outreach and further repair works, which will be a major project.
The church is within the conservation area, and nearby shops have also recently benefited from funding as part of the High Street Heritage Action Zone, which for the past three years has been focusing on heritage led regeneration within the town centre.
Historic England’s grants have helped revitalise and support businesses in listed buildings, helping to make Newark more attractive, accessible and better connected to the community.
There has also been good progress at the grade two listed Saracen’s Head.
The hotel dates to approximately 1460, with early and late 19th and 20th century alterations and additions.
It’s North Range is a two-storey, timber-framed building with brick nogging — brickwork in a timber frame — with irregular windows and late 19th-century windows.
The building has experienced decay, including the collapse of its lime ash floor and some damage from vegetation, which attracted concern from Southwell residents who feared the building falling into further disrepair.
Repairs are now being carried out, following a condition survey funded by Historic England's covid-19 Emergency Heritage at Risk Response Fund.
The hotel played host to King Charles I in 1646, during the Civil War, before he was detained by Parliamentary forces.
Other notable guests include Oliver Cromwell, Charles Dickens, Lord Byron and D H Lawrence.
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, equating to around three quarters of the entries that were on the original register. Many of the remaining entries from the 1998 Register have seen good progress despite often being the hardest cases to solve.
In the East Midlands this year, 135 buildings or structures, 160 places of worship, 87 archaeological features, six parks and gardens and 74 conservation areas are at risk of neglect, decay or inappropriate change.
20 sites have been removed from the register in the region this year.
Across England, Historic England awarded £7.63 million in grants for repairs to 155 sites during 2022 to 2023.
Eilish McGuinness, chief executive at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “It is so heartening to see a number of significant heritage sites removed from the Heritage at Risk Register in the East Midlands and given a new lease of life as part of their local communities and places.
“Saving heritage at risk so that it can be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future, is core to our purpose, and we’re incredibly proud that the Heritage Fund has been able to support this important work to make this fantastic news possible.”
