A DORSET sculpture has been declared one of Britain’s 20 Most Intriguing Places listed by Historic England in 2017.

The Dorset Martyrs memorial, a sculpture featuring three larger-than-life bronze figures by the renowned Dorset artist, Dame Elisabeth Frink, was unveiled in 1986.

It marks the site of the former gallows on Icen Way and South Walks Road in Dorchester, where Catholics were hanged for their beliefs in the 16th and 17th centuries and is inscribed with the words: “For Christ and conscience sake.”

Others on the ‘Intriguing’ list include a prehistoric timber trackway, a gravestone to ‘Blackie’ the war horse, a Roman parade ground, "acoustic mirrors" for detecting aircraft before radar, and the gardens where Billy Butlin opened his first holiday camp.

In total, 1,041 historic buildings, landscapes, monuments and sites have been given protected status in the past year, Heritage England said.

These include majestic structures such as a Victorian gasometer and smaller treasures, such as the wrecks of two possible late 17th or early 18th century merchant ships containing 15 cast iron English cannons off Chesil Beach, and the Memorial Obelisk to Convalescent Depot for Indian Troops at Barton-on-Sea in the New Forest.

First listed in 1974, the granite obelisk near Cliff Crescent marks the site of the hospital that served Indian soldiers evacuated during the early years of the First World War. It appears to be one of only two freestanding memorials in England that commemorate Indian servicemen, said Historic England, and has been upgraded to a Grade II listing.

Some 25,000 sick and injured Indian soldiers were posted to Barton-on-Sea to recover and the obelisk includes a dedication in both English and Urdu, reflecting the respect in which the soldiers were held by the hospital staff, who paid for the memorial.

Historic England's chief executive, Duncan Wilson, said: "Ninety nine per cent of people in England live within a mile of a listed building or place.

"These sites are irreplaceable and showcase the wonderfully distinct and diverse character of England and its people across thousands of years."