Rare and unseen graffiti drawn on prison walls by men who refused to fight in the First World War as they awaited court martial is to be saved from crumbling to dust.

The hundreds of pencil drawings, political slogans, portraits of loved ones, hymns and poetry on the walls of the 19th century cell block at Richmond Castle, North Yorkshire, will be protected by English Heritage as part of a £365,400 project.

They were made by the "Richmond Sixteen", conscientious objectors including Quakers, Methodists, Jehovah's Witnesses and socialists who were incarcerated before being shipped to France to face court martial and a possible firing squad.