About Heritage at Risk

 Dr Simon Thurley

The great heyday of English conservation, back in the 1960s and 1970s, was about pulling back the bulldozers that were ploughing through and demolishing Georgian terraces. But that is much less of a threat today, thanks to protective legislation and better appreciation. So when we say that a listed grade I or II* building is ‘at risk’ we mean it is vulnerable through neglect and decay rather than alteration or demolition.

The problem is exemplified by individual buildings that have served us well for centuries but which suddenly aren’t in a position to do so any longer. So we build a new one and the old one is left empty. This is the conservation crisis of the current age: things not being flattened but being abandoned and left to decay because people don’t think ahead about finding a proper use for them. So what, for example, do we do with the grade I listed courthouse that is left abandoned after a modern replacement is built? Or the gem that gets left for 15 years with its windows smashed, as an embarrassment to its community and to those who discarded it? Something must be done. Especially when buildings are deliberately left empty by some unscrupulous property companies and allowed to decay until someone else picks up the preservation bill.

This is what leads us to the ‘at risk’ register. Paying close attention to these cases is our core business. We were set up to identify the most important monuments of our nation’s civilisation in order that they be protected for the future. And that doesn’t just mean buildings.We must travel the country and say, ‘These precious and unique places are important for future generations who need to appreciate them as part of their national heritage’. All in all there are about half a million of these assets – buildings, monuments, parks and gardens and the rest – that we have identified.To save them for the future it’s logical that we have first to know if they are safe or endangered. This is more than just a gathering of statistics in order to develop targets: it’s at the practical core of what we do. Unless we identify and monitor what’s at risk we won’t be able to plan and prioritise effectively. We have to use this mass of knowledge to target our resources and our research. Problems have to be pinpointed for solutions to be formulated – solutions that must be found for the sake of those who will come after us.

Simon Thurley
Chief Executive, English Heritage