197 more sites join England's Heritage at Risk list, including Dickens's writing chalet
Historic England added 197 buildings and sites to its Heritage at Risk Register on 5 November 2026, and one of them is the miniature Swiss chalet where Charles Dickens liked to work. The Art Newspaper reported the update.
The register, kept by Historic England, the public body that looks after England's historic places, lists buildings, parks, battlefields and shipwrecks threatened by decay, neglect or inappropriate development. It now holds 4,991 entries, all described as being of national importance. Historic England also removed 85 sites from the list after solutions were found for them.
The chalet was a Christmas present to Dickens in 1864. It arrived flat-packed in 94 pieces. He set it at the far end of the garden at Gad's Hill, his last home near Rochester in Kent, and reached it through a tunnel he had built under the road. On 9 June 1870 he spent much of the day in the chalet working on The Mystery of Edwin Drood. That night he went back to the house, where he died, aged 58.
The chalet was moved in the 1960s to the garden of Eastgate House in Rochester. It is now too fragile for visitors. The BBC reported in June that it was set to receive a £240,000 lottery grant for restoration.
Hastings Castle, on the Sussex coast, is also on the list. It was one of the first three castles built by William the Conqueror after his victory in 1066, and it appears in the Bayeux Tapestry. Storms and coastal erosion threaten its ruins, and urgent work has already been carried out to stabilise them.
Hall's Croft in Stratford-upon-Avon is the third site named in the update. The timber-framed house dates from 1613 and was home to Susanna Shakespeare, William Shakespeare's daughter, and her husband, John Hall. In October 2025 a car reversed into its facade and caused further serious damage. Playwright Ken Ludwig has donated £1m towards its conservation.
The full register can be searched on Historic England's website, either by name, on a map or through a downloadable spreadsheet.
