Eighty-five historic sites have been rescued and their futures secured over the past year, according to Historic England's Heritage at Risk Register 2026, in a sign that targeted funding and local effort can still pull buildings and landscapes back from the brink. The register, published annually, tracks the condition of England's most threatened historic places, from castles and churches to harbours and industrial sites.

Among the places saved this year are Newlyn Harbour in Cornwall, one of the country's most important fishing ports, and the Church of St Peter in Norfolk, a 10th-century building with a Saxon round tower that is among the oldest churches in England. Both had faced uncertain futures before repair and reuse work secured them.

But the register also shows the scale of the problem. A further 197 sites were added over the past year, and places still needing help include Hastings Castle, the Norman fortress whose ruins overlook the town where the Battle of Hastings was fought. The additions outnumber the rescues by more than two to one, a reminder that the pipeline of buildings at risk is not shrinking.

The Heritage at Risk Capital Fund, funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, supports repair work on the most threatened sites. The register covers listed buildings, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, battlefields and wreck sites, and Historic England says the fund, combined with local fundraising and volunteer effort, is the reason so many sites have been saved, but it warns that without continued investment the list will keep growing faster than it can be cleared.