Exterior, drone image from west showing church, snaking estate buildings. — St Lawrence RC Church, Byker Crescent, Byker, Newcastle upon Tyne,Tyne and Wear. Roman Catholic church built in 1898 which sits amid the Ralph Erskine-designed Byker Wall estate in Newcastle. © Historic England Archive. DP372318

St Lawrence RC Church, Byker Crescent, Byker, Newcastle upon Tyne,Tyne and Wear. Roman Catholic church built in 1898 which sits amid the Ralph Erskine-designed Byker Wall estate in Newcastle. © Historic England Archive. DP372318

Heritage at Risk in the North East Revealed

Published 9 November 2023

Today, Historic England publishes its annual Heritage at Risk Register for 2023. The Register is the yearly health-check of England’s most valued historic places and those most at risk of being lost forever as a result of neglect, decay or inappropriate development.

Map showing places on the Heritage at Risk Register

What's at risk near you?

Find Heritage at Risk on an interactive map. Move around the map to see what's at risk in your area or use the address search.

See the map

Highlights from sites saved in 2023

Over the past year, 5 sites have been saved and their futures secured. Many have been rescued thanks to heritage partners and dedicated teams of volunteers, community groups, charities, owners and councils, working together with Historic England.

Saved: All Saints Church, Sockburn

Sockburn was an important seat of ecclesiastical power, occupied since the 8th century. The site includes a Norman church which housed an important collection of Viking carved stones.

The church was put on the Register in 1999 due to its poor state of repair, as well as the condition of and risk to the stones.

Following repairs to the church, the stones were moved to Durham Cathedral where they underwent specialist conservation work and now form part of its permanent collection.

A large sandstone cross rests against a red brick wall, on top of a block carved with birds.

Viking-carved stones from All Saints Church in Sockburn. Historic England Archive. DP174080.

Highlights from sites added to the Register

In the North East, 13 sites have been added to the register because of concerns about their condition. They are at risk of being lost forever as a result of neglect, decay or inappropriate development.

At Risk: St Lawrence Church, Byker

Constructed in 1847 to the to the design of John Dobson, St Lawrence Church was originally built in New Bridge Street for the Presbyterians. However, in 1897, it was rebuilt in nearby Felton Street to serve the Catholic faith. In the 1970s, the church was then integrated into the Ralph Erskine’s Byker Wall estate.
St Lawrence Church has been added to the register due to structural concerns caused by subsidence.

Exterior, drone image from east showing church, snaking estate buildings, Newcastle city centre and Gateshead Millenium Bridge with River Tyne.

At Risk: Heugh Coastal Artillery Battery

Heugh Battery is best known as the UK’s first and only World War I battlefield. On 16 December 1914, the coastal artillery battery on Hartlepool’s headland engaged in battle with three German battlecruisers.
Now run as an independent military museum by Heugh Gun Battery Trust, the site needs significant repair.

Action has already been taken by the Trust to restore the Battery with Historic England awarding £38,530 to fund specialist surveys to assess the extent of the damage.