Birkrigg Stone Circle, Cumbria - a prehistoric scheduled monument at risk from vandalism and bracken encroachment. © English Heritage

"The long barrow overgrown with brambles that you saw on your last country walk, the Civil War battlefield under threat of development, the broken war memorial in the village square or the boarded-up old mill buildings that no-one seems to care about – these are all part of the rich backdrop of our lives in England."

"But our heritage is a finite resource and if we don't act, these things won't be here for our grandchildren."

Simon Thurley, Chief Executive of English Heritage, issued this rallying statement as the organisation announced its Heritage at Risk Register on May 28 2008. The new register is a step up from the Buildings at Risk Register, seeking to encompass the entire historic environment.

Lowther Castle, nr Penrith, Cumbria - a Grade II* building at risk, unoccupied for over 50 years. © English Heritage

Neglected or decaying treasures, from historic landscapes to designated maritime wrecks, will be surveyed under the project, to be launched on July 8 2008, ten years since the Buildings at Risk Register was first published.

"Even in its first year, our Heritage at Risk project will constitute the most detailed picture ever gathered of the true state of the nation's heritage," said Mr Thurley.

"This very ambitious systematic survey of heritage at risk will enable us to prioritise the most urgent cases and save more of them, more quickly."

An abandoned van dumped in Pindale side vein, the remains of a 17th century lead mine, near Castleton, Derbyshire. This scheduled monument at risk is an important example of how lead was extracted before the 17th century and the introduction of gunpowder. © English Heritage

The project means that England will be the only country in Europe to have comprehensive data about its protected heritage in order to save it.

It will extend the winning formula of the buildings register, which looked at all Grade I and Grade II* listed buildings, and extend it to Grade II buildings, scheduled monuments, archaeology, historic landscapes, parks and gardens, places of worship, conservation areas, battlefields and designated maritime wrecks.

In the first phase of the project, English Heritage experts have added to their knowledge of the country's 30,687 Grade I and II* listed buildings with an assessment of:
all 19,711 of the country's scheduled monuments
all 1,595 registered historic parks, gardens and landscapes
all 43 registered battlefields, and
all 45 protected wrecks off our coasts.

The Salcombe Cannon site yielded 17th century treasure and Bronze Age artefacts. Vandalism threatens the site. © Wessex Archaeology/ English Heritage

The state of these national treasures has been analysed and the results will be published on July 8 2008. Mr Thurley has stressed, however, that the point is not to put blame on anyone for those sites that are now considered to be at risk.

"Most owners of heritage sites in England do a fantastic job of looking after them, but it is a difficult task. Heritage at Risk is not a name and shame exercise. The new register will focus everyone's attention on the neediest cases, bringing the owners, councils and others together and harnessing the nation's huge enthusiasm for its rich, varied but sometimes fragile past."

The launch of Heritage At Risk is sponsored by Ecclesiastical Insurance.