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Castle Rushen • Registered Building 24 Castletown Conservation Area
Manx National Heritage • Applicant Homcastle Thomas Ltd • Agent
Castle Rushen is a Listed Monument and Registered Building on the western shore of Castletown Bay, near the mouth of the Silverburn River. Surrounded on three sides by the town of Castletown, the castle is the focus of the conservation area.
This application seeks consent to make minor alterations to the former witness room and former courtroom above, within the Outer Gatehouse. These alterations are primarily to provide an accessible platform lift from the ground to first floor. Previous approved works made alterations to the floor structure to allow for the future installation of a passenger lift and this proposal seeks approval to complete those works.
This encompasses removing a portion of the existing ceiling + floor above, providing a new floor finish to the witness room, minor alterations to the witness room door, a new opening in the existing screen between the witness + education rooms, installation of platform lift.
Castle Rushen has undergone many development phases and numerous structural alterations since its origins in the 1920s. Initially built for defensive purposes, when this need subsided it was converted to a prison in the early 1930s. The Outer Gatehouse where these works are proposed served as administration purposes. The prison was re-located in the 1930s and many of the interventions associated with this use were removed by Armitage Rigby.
Castle Rushen then served as a museum until 1922 when the Manx Museum opened in Douglas. After this the castle remained largely a site of visitor interest with paid entry.
Located on the first floor of the Outer Gatehouse, the courtroom has undergone many alterations and was extensively repaired and modernised between 1970 to 1972. The Isle of Man Courts ceased to use the area in 2013 and the space is now utilised as the venue for the investiture ceremony for new Lieutenant Governors.
This application, if approved, will improve access and usability of the spaces.
Castle Rushen is of a distinctive form, constructed of limestone blockwork with slated and leaded roofs.
The central keep and inner ward are surrounded by an outer ward, curtain wall and most (now garden). The Outer Gatehouse, with courtroom on the first floor, is located approximately to the north of the keep adjacent to Castle Street and the harbour and connected to the Barbican entrance and outer gateway to the east.
The 2012 Castle Rushen: Castletown, IتعE Conservation Plan: Part 1: Understanding Significant by Drury McPherson Partnership notes that the medieval structure to the first floor of the Outer Gatehouse sub divided the space; the spine wall and cross walls continuing up from the floor below. These were removed in 1937 to create a new larger court room with a new shallow hipped roof and lantern over with fittings in a Tudor Gothic style.
Extensive modifications were undertaken again to the Outer Gatehouse and courtroom in 1970 - 1971. A staircase was inserted linking the courtroom to a witness room on the ground floor; the orientation of the room reversed; the majority of the historic furniture and fittings removed; the walls dry-lined; the cove removed and a flat proprietary suspended ceiling installed. In the 1990s the roof was re-covered; the lower level of rafters replaced and the feet of the principal trusses repaired in steel.
The re-modelling to the Outer Gatehouse has seen historical detailing either removed, partially or wholly, or obscured; modern finishes to walls and floors have been introduced onto and through which furniture and associated mechanical and electrical services have been fixed.
As the Drury McPherson Partnership Conservation Plan (June 2012) notes:
"The remodelling of the 1937 courtroom and the decapitation of some of the principal rooms in Derby House in 1970 - 1972 without (so far as is known) even a photographic record did considerable harm to the the significance of the buildings, while leaving an entirely utilitarian legacy. They were treated simply as functional buildings."
Refurbishment of the courtroom in 2021 saw the removal of the majority of the 1970s works including the flat suspended ceiling + replaced with a hipped, raked plastered ceiling, revealing the historic lantern internally.
This application forms a combustion of previously approved works to allow for future flexible use + improve accessibility by providing a passenger platform lift, an important part of the Conservation Management Plan for this significant and internationally important ancient monument.
Previous approved works provided a trimmed opening in the floor structure to allow for the future installation of a passenger platform lift. This proposal seeks permission to complete those works by opening up the recently installed flooring above, and an opening in the ceiling below (part of the 1970's works).
In addition, the proposal seeks permission to remove a portion of the panelling between the ground floor education room and former witness room and install a mechanised access door with actuator push plates either side, suitable for wheelchair access to the platform lift. The timber partition is part of the 1970's works.
The floor level in the witness room is to be raised to provide level access from the education room and to recess the lower portion of the platform lift below the finished floor level. The adjacent witness room door is to have approximately 50mm removed from its base to allow for raised floor finish to pass under and finish as a step to the adjacent stairs.
Existing lighting, smoke detector, radiator, spur, and socket in the former witness room need to be removed to allow for the passenger lift. The existing radiator is to be moved to the adjacent wall and new lighting, smoke detector, and sockets to be provided.
The general aim of the proposals is to improve access to the space for mobility-impaired visitors.
Previous works have sought to provide better wheelchair access routes through the site. This proposal seeks to continue the level access through the education room, to the platform lift, and up to the former courtroom, to the general standards expected in Part M of building regulations.
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