The Society’s President, Griff Rhys Jones OBE, has today launched the list of the Top Ten Endangered Buildings in England and Wales. The buildings in the Top Ten are nationally important Grade II* and Grade II listed buildings at real risk of being lost if action is not taken.
This year’s list of Victorian and Edwardian buildings include an exquisite art nouveau pavilion where Agatha Christie was engaged, a folly-like tower in a walled garden that supplied a country house with spring water, a rare medicinal bathing spa in a steel town, a romantic, rambling country house which saw the earliest days of the atomic age, and a pioneering concrete commercial building ahead of its time.
The Victorian Society’s Top 10 Endangered Buildings 2025 (in no particular order):
- Bosworth Park Water Tower, Market Bosworth, Leicestershire. Grade II, Architect: Thomas Garner, circa 1885
- Torquay Pavilion, Torquay, Devon. Grade II, Architect: Edward Richards, 1911
- Birley Spa, Hackenthorpe, Sheffield. Grade II, 1842 -1843
- 33 – 39 St James Street, King’s Lynn, Norfolk. Grade II, Architect: A. F. Scott, 1908
- Former Marine Hotel, Penarth, Glamorgan. Grade II, perhaps Samuel Dobson, c.1865
- Former Methodist Central Hall, Corporation St, Birmingham. Grade II*, Ewen & J. Alfred Harper, 1900 – 1903
- Gibson Street Baths, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Grade II, F. H. Holford, 1906 –1907
- Aldermaston Court, Aldermaston, Berkshire. Grade II*, P. C. Hardwick, 1848-51, Brightwen & Binyon, 1894
- Edgerton Cemetery Chapel, Huddersfield. Grade II, James Pritchett, circa 1853 – 1855
- Gwalia, West Derby, Liverpool. Grade II, architect unknown, 1854
Read more about this year’s buildings here.
Griff Rhys Jones, the Victorian Society’s President, said:
‘These are not top of the pops nor is there a number one. These are all toppermost buildings that demonstrate the range of imagination and commitment that Victorian and Edwardian architects, builders and designers brought to their work. Some are the fantasies of rich men, some the pious hopes of spiritual people, some monuments to the demotic gaiety of newly prosperous times for ordinary working people. All are monuments to their makers. All have glorious qualities, character and important past stories to tell and all are in a sad state of neglect. We know that there are dedicated supporters of these buildings. They nominated them for this list, and are often working hard to try to bring them back into the community. But some tell the same story. They are victims of owners who would prefer to see them fall down, or shackled with decay thanks to bad legislation and silly tax laws. I am always staggered by how exciting these projects are, and how beautiful the work that created them was. The proper option is to preserve. The green option is to recycle. The result of action and conservation could only be the enhancement of our urban fabric. Properly restored heritage adds enormous commercial value to a site, a town centre or an individual building. People like it. All we can do is to bring these incredible opportunities to your attention. Let’s try and find solutions together.’
James Hughes, the Victorian Society Director, said:
‘This year’s list again highlights the extraordinary quality and diversity of Victorian and Edwardian buildings in England and Wales as well, more troublingly, the variously chronic and acute threats that this particular group of buildings now faces. In shining a light on them we hope to foster debate, to galvanise support and ultimately to help find a sustainable future for each and every one of them. This is not just about preserving the past: it is about protecting a shared heritage for this and future generations.’
The list is based on public nominations from across England and Wales, and the buildings selected represent industrial, religious, domestic, and civic architecture from across the nation with unique historical and community significance and value. Nominated buildings must be dated between 1837 and 1914.
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