With striking snaps of atmospheric lighthouses and eerie shipwrecks, the winners from the Historic Photographer of the Year awards have been announced.

This competition celebrates slices of history – from well-known buildings to hidden gems. Judge Dan Snow says: “This year’s awards featured an outstanding array of fantastic and fascinating historical places across the globe. The wonderful entries we’ve seen highlight both the immense heritage that surrounds us, along with the often precarious and fragile nature of some of our most precious locations of cultural value.

“The awards demonstrate the huge dedication that entrants often go to when trying to capture that perfect shot, whether rising in the dead of night to capture the perfect sunrise or climbing, hiking and trekking their way to discover far flung places from our past.”

Steve Liddiard took home the top prize for his shot of a thunderstorm surrounding the Whiteford Point Lighthouse in the Gower Peninsula, south Wales.

Sam Binding won the Historic England category for a dreamy shot of Bristol’s Clifton Suspension Bridge during a misty sunrise.

The Where History Happened category was won by Iain McCallum, for his haunting image of Purton Hulks in Gloucestershire. Also known as the Purton Ships’ Graveyard, this area is home to all manner of abandoned ships in varying stages of decay, and McCallum’s shot shows the wrecks of the Wastdale H and Arkendale H, which collided in the River Severn in October 1960.

The shortlisted photographs show a moment of history not only in England, but all over the world – from Hiroshima in Japan to St Petersburg in Russia. These are some of the most arresting images from the shortlist…