The Victorian Society is asking the public to nominate threatened Victorian and Edwardian buildings and structures for their list of Top Ten Endangered Buildings to be announced in 2026.
The Society’s Top Ten Endangered Buildings campaign highlights dilapidated and neglected buildings around England and Wales that are in desperate need of help. The media coverage the campaign gains spotlights buildings that might otherwise lie forgotten and decaying. This publicity can alter their fate for the better. See below for examples of how previous Top Ten lists helped the buildings that people nominated.
Griff Rhys Jones, President of the Victorian Society said,
‘It is an important time of year again. Every year the Victorian Society asks the public to nominate Top Ten Endangered buildings. They get attention, they get press, they get TV and we get new members. They get results in conservation too. But we rely on members of the public to be watchdogs and to have sharp eyes and ears out across the country to find these important targets. There is a new mythology stalking the land. This is that heritage and old buildings are holding up growth. It’s desperate stuff but gaining traction. Heritage promotes growth. Recycling buildings is the green option. Old buildings make places significant and add value in a way that new often do not. Recently, this government has been turning down requests from Historic England and the Vic Soc for new listings. More in the last eight months than in the last eight years. Never has there been a more important time to publicise great Victorian and Edwardian buildings in peril. Please nominate. Please alert. We need your active support.’
To nominate a building or structure email [email protected] with the year it was built, its location, whether it is listed, a brief description of its history and/or architecture and the threat it is under, and at least one good photo. Nominated buildings must be in England or Wales and be built wholly or largely between 1837 and 1914. Preference is given to listed buildings. Multiple nominations do not help secure inclusion.
The deadline for nominations is 5th January 2026.
Positive outcomes for buildings and communities
No fewer than four of our 2024 nominated endangered buildings have had positive developments since we launched our list at the end of May 2024. The former Bramcote Tennis Pavilion in Scarborough following concerted action in February and March 2025 is undergoing repairs with the promise to the Council, the local people, a concerned Councillor and MP that a full plan for restoration will follow. St Agnes’ Vicarage and Hall, Sefton Park in Liverpool, designed by architect Norman Shaw are extremely important listed buildings. The Grade II*-listed vicarage and hall were placed on the market by the Church of England and the buildings have now been sold. The Council at Southend-on Sea – which owns the seaside landmark The Kursaal – has begun working with their local MP and the leasee of its building to secure a better future, involving the Vic Soc and key heritage funders. The Chance Heritage Trust-owned former Glassworks in Smethwick was thrilled to announce £250,000 of support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund in August 2024 which will help the Trust push forward with its industrial heritage projects at the site over three years. Being on the Society’s list for the second time helped to highlight both its potential and pressing need.
Since the 2023 list was announced, two councils assured the Society that they intend to step in to support buildings on the list. Namely Carlisle Victorian and Turkish Baths and the Coach and Horses Hotel, Wallsend. For the latter, North Tyneside Council has written to the owner requesting an analysis of options for its reuse. Cumberland Council has had essential repointing and reroofing at the Turkish Baths take place. In September 2024 the Council also announced that the Friends Group had been successful in its campaign to reopen this amenity, so that the Baths can be run by the community for the community, although substantial funding will still need to be raised.
Plas Alltran, Anglesey, on the 2020 list, was purchased by the Council, and is now restored and converted for use as social housing. With north-west based conservation specialists Recclesia having worked hard on its restoration, it now offers homes to four families. Birnbeck Pier, Weston-super-Mare, which was on the 2015 list, has been purchased by North Somerset Council – part funded by the RNLI – and will be restored with substantial public funding. The Captain Cook Pub, Teeside, which featured in the TV series Auf Wiedersehen, Pet has been restored, and the fabulous Winter Gardens in Great Yarmouth is undergoing restoration and regeneration to become a seaside people’s palace once again. The Oldham Prudential Offices, on the 2020 list, was compulsorily purchased and is planned to undergo a multi-million pound renovation to offer spaces for creative, digital and media businesses when completed.
