Three of the county's historic buildings have been singled out for praise by English Heritage for successful preservation and restoration.

At a time when English Heritage says many historic buildings are at risk, the Oxford Castle regeneration project, Witney's High Street Methodist Church and St Mary's Church in Banbury have been highlighted as examples of "positive uses" of community heritage projects.

The news has delighted staff at Oxford Castle, which prides itself on being a unique blend of old and new.

General manager Jean-Pierre Morilleau said: "We are obviously pleased to have gained this recognition from English Heritage. It is very good news. We are working hard to make sure people continue to be drawn here, to what is a unique environment. On the same site, we have some of the city's oldest and newest buildings.

"We are making the 'space' into a 'place' and feel it is a perfect environment for the wide variety of attractions we have here, from restaurants to art galleries."

From today, the castle will be home to an ice rink, which will be in place for 12 weeks and hopes to attract scores of people over the festive period.

Mr Morilleau said: "This is just one example of our efforts to encourage people to come and see what we have to offer here."

The Rev Janet Chapman, priest-in-charge of St Mary's in Banbury, said the £1.6m project to restore the stonework and transform the church into an arts centre as well as a place of worship had been hard work.

She said: "We have worked very closely with English Heritage throughout and we are very pleased to get this recognition.

"This was a very significant project, both for the building, which was in a very poor state of repair, and for Banbury."

The stonework on the front of the 19th century High Street Methodist Church in Witney was replaced two years ago in a £130,000 facelift.

Andy Brown, English Heritage's regional director for the south east, said: "History and heritage are more popular than ever before, according to new figures published recently, yet in spite of this huge popular appeal, some of our most cherished historic buildings at the very heart of our communities are under threat.

"Today there are public buildings that are redundant or face a very uncertain future. And yet these buildings still have an important value locally that goes far beyond their original uses.

"In Oxfordshire, the Oxford Castle regeneration project highlights how a sensitive new-build and effective re-use of brownfield land can work alongside the historic environment, with the ancient monuments and listed buildings on the site being restored and integrated with new buildings to create an architecturally dynamic area in the heart of the city.

"Other examples in Oxfordshire are in High Street Methodist Church in Witney and St Mary's Church in Banbury."