Castles on the coast could be moved inland, brick by brick, to save Britain's coastal heritage from climate change.
The government is considering ways to protect a number of historic properties threatened by rising sea levels, reports the Daily Telegraph.
Historic monuments could be moved in exceptional circumstances to a "more sustainable location", according to a consultation paper released by the Department for the Environment.
Coastal defences should be improved in less severe cases and valuable assets recorded in case they are lost forever, it says.
Hundreds of monuments around the British coast are at risk of sea level rises and erosion and could be candidates for relocation.
St Michael's Mount in Cornwall, currently reached by a causeway, could become an island; Westbury Court Garden in Gloucestershire could be flooded by the River Severn; and Dunstanburgh Castle in Northumbria is under threat from erosion.
An English Heritage spokesman said: "Future sea-level rise as a result of climate change and associated coastal erosion and flooding will threaten many historic buildings, sites and landscapes.
"While it may be possible to protect some of these, others will need to be adapted to withstand changing conditions and, over time, others will be lost."
This week the Met Office will warn of the threat of rising sea levels to Britain over the next 80 years.
It is expected to warn that sea levels could rise by as much as 80cm (31 inches) around the British coast by 2100, causing the flooding of low lying areas such as Norfolk.
The government is considering ways to protect a number of historic properties threatened by rising sea levels, reports the Daily Telegraph.
Historic monuments could be moved in exceptional circumstances to a "more sustainable location", according to a consultation paper released by the Department for the Environment.
Coastal defences should be improved in less severe cases and valuable assets recorded in case they are lost forever, it says.
Hundreds of monuments around the British coast are at risk of sea level rises and erosion and could be candidates for relocation.
St Michael's Mount in Cornwall, currently reached by a causeway, could become an island; Westbury Court Garden in Gloucestershire could be flooded by the River Severn; and Dunstanburgh Castle in Northumbria is under threat from erosion.
An English Heritage spokesman said: "Future sea-level rise as a result of climate change and associated coastal erosion and flooding will threaten many historic buildings, sites and landscapes.
"While it may be possible to protect some of these, others will need to be adapted to withstand changing conditions and, over time, others will be lost."
This week the Met Office will warn of the threat of rising sea levels to Britain over the next 80 years.
It is expected to warn that sea levels could rise by as much as 80cm (31 inches) around the British coast by 2100, causing the flooding of low lying areas such as Norfolk.
