A 13th century church and a gothic county house are just two of the North-East historic sites which feature on English Heritage’s At Risk Register this year.

Church of St Andrew, in Winston, and Hamsterley Hall, near Consett, both in County Durham, are two of 20 sites and conservation areas in the region with concerns about their condition.

In addition, 27 sites have been repaired and removed from the register as their future has been secured.

In the last year more than £768,000 has been offered in grants to help some of the North East’s best loved and most important historic sites.

Hamsterley Hall is a Grade II*listed building, which has suffered years of decline resulting in a £4m repair bill. The service wing has had to be demolished and the rest of the building requires urgent attention.

It was already listed on the At Risk Register but is now listed at the highest category of risk.

The Church of St Andrew was restored by architect John Dobson in 1848 but now the main chancel roof of Welsh slate has reached the end of its life and the building also has structural problems. A repair project has been agreed and thanks to help from English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund work should be completed by the end of next year.

Other places to feature on the list include Fullwell Mill, Sunderland and Barningham Moor, County Durham; however some sites have seen improvements in the last 12 months resulting in them being removed off the list. These include Church of St James, Benwell, Tyne and Wear; Croquet Island, off the cost of Amble, Northumberland and Spittal Conservation Area, Berwick.

Graham Saunders, planning and conservation director for the North-East, said: “Successful partnerships and the support of volunteers and community groups are crucial in tackling heritage at risk; a fact demonstrated consistently in the North-East.

“Whilst we’ve been very successful in improving many sites, there is no time to relax - 20 historic sites and areas were newly assessed and added to the 2013 register.

“We will continue to work with others to improve the condition of our historic environment. In particular over the next year, we will be working to assess the condition of publicly and privately owned and managed parks, gardens and cemeteries.

“In addition, working with a number of local authorities, we will assess the condition of grade II buildings and look for ways of arresting their decay, made more difficult by the increasing demands on the resources owners need to repair and maintain them.”