'Relief' as heritage sites deemed no longer at risk

The removal of a Nottinghamshire heritage site from a list of at-risk structures is "fantastic and reassuring", a museum director has said.

Papplewick pumping station, near Ravenshead, has now been removed from Historic England's Heritage at Risk Register.

Museum director Ashley Smart said a £580,000 repair project which finished last year has returned the Victorian steam-powered water pumping station to a "wonderful condition".

Four heritage sites have been removed from the register across Nottinghamshire for 2025, while four new sites have been added after being deemed "at risk".

The pumping station, completed in 1886, is the only one of its kind in England to still have all its original features, Historic England said.

Ben Robinson, a regional team leader at Historic England, described it as "a marvellous piece of Victorian engineering".

It was added to the at-risk register due to extensive structural issues, including degradation of its main chimney.

However, the completion of major repair work to the site - which has been open as a museum since 1976 - led to its removal from the list, Mr Robinson said.

Mr Smart added: "You never want to be on these registers, so to be removed from it, knowing that we've restored those vital parts... it's fantastic."

The Heritage at Risk Register is a list of buildings, structures, archaeological sites, parks, gardens, wreck sites and conservation areas which are listed or designated as historically important, but are at risk of being lost due to neglect, decay or inappropriate development.

There are currently 74 entries on the register in Nottinghamshire.

Another entry which has been removed from the list this year is the Grade II listed Methodist Church, in Grove Street, Retford.

Mr Robinson said the building, constructed in 1880, had been abandoned for a "period of time".

However, ceiling repair work in 2021 and other internal and external work completed in 2025 had "turned it around", Mr Robinson said.

The Church of St John in Worksop, which was identified in 2021 as having defects which would cost £170,000 to repair, has also been removed from the register.

The fourth site removed is the north range of The Saracen's Head Hotel, in Southwell, parts of which date back to the year 1460.

However, four assets in the county have been added, including the People's Hall in Heathcoat Street, Nottingham, which was built in 1750 and is said to have suffered "high-level" water damage and is in need of urgent repair.

Mr Robinson said there were "ambitious plans" to bring the building back into use.

"We want to get this place working for Nottingham again, it was given to the people of Nottingham after it had been a fine mansion and we want it to work for that community again," he said.

Nottingham Historic Building Trust is now carrying out a feasibility study to assess how the building could be used in future.

The three other additions to the list are the Church of St Peter in Clayworth; the Church of St Peter in Hayton; and the Southwell Baptist Chapel in Southwell.

Mr Robinson said: "I think a lot of people made the mistake in the past that heritage is just for enthusiasts.

"But actually, it's always been the case that these places are tremendously important to people's perception of place, how they view where they live," he said.

The full Historic England Heritage at Risk can be found on the Historic England website.

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