A Northumbrian battlefield memorial, a Somerset silk mill, a castle used for target practice in the Second World War, an overgrown cemetery, a mausoleum to a man buried in his chair and a church neglected for 100 years – these are among 17 heritage rescues chosen to go forward to the finals of this year's English Heritage Angel Awards.

The Awards will be presented once again at the Palace Theatre in London on Monday 21 October.

Backed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, the English Heritage Angel Awards celebrate the efforts of individuals and local groups all over the country who put hours of hard work and enthusiasm into saving derelict and severely damaged historic landmarks from being lost forever.

Andrew Lloyd Webber says: "I offer my heartfelt congratulations to the candidates shortlisted for this year's English Heritage Angel Awards who have been selected from a hugely impressive field of applicants.

"These Awards celebrate the time, energy and passion of volunteers across England who help to preserve our country's architectural heritage. Acknowledging these unsung heroes is incredibly important and has contributed to an increase in the number of sites being taken off English Heritage's At Risk register."

Simon Thurley, Chief Executive of English Heritage, says: "When heritage experts met recently to sift through almost 200 applications they were looking for passion, perseverance and imagination, as well as the scale of the challenge and how well the project had been tackled.

"What they found was that the quality of applications this year was higher than ever. We salute all these heroic heritage rescuers who prove that people not only care about their local heritage but are prepared to get stuck in and save it.

"With the aid of English Heritage, the Heritage Lottery Fund, local authority conservation officers and countless other organisations – and sometimes simply on their own – our Angels applicants and thousands like them are tackling Heritage at Risk head on.

"As a nation enriched by its past we should be truly grateful to our Angels for fighting the neglect and decay which threatens our future."

Groups from all the shortlisted entries have been invited to attend the English Heritage Angels Awards ceremony at the Palace Theatre in London's West End where one Angel winner in each of four categories will be announced.

The Awards show will be hosted by TV Presenter Paul Martin and held in the presence of the judges Andrew Lloyd Webber, Simon Thurley, Charles Moore of the Telegraph, historian Bettany Hughes and the Bishop of London, the Right Revd Richard Chartres.

English Heritage is making films of all the rescue projects. They will be shown on stage before the winners are announced.

You can vote for your favourite project.

English Heritage is inviting everyone to visit www.english-heritage.org.uk/aboutangelawards to see full details of the shortlisted projects and vote for their favourites.

By voting, people will automatically be entered into a competition to win one of 50 pairs of tickets to the awards ceremony and two lucky voters will also be invited along to the post-show reception hosted by Andrew Lloyd Webber.

You can follow #HeritageAngels on Twitter for more information and updates.

The Telegraph newspaper is media partner for the awards and the Awards are co-funded by the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation.