Context 153 - March 2018

C O N T E X T 1 5 3 : M A R C H 2 0 1 8 41 later prison-period adaptations and restore it near to its late-18 th -century form. From the completion of these works in 1907 the castle began a new life, primarily as a tourist attraction under the management of the Isle of Man Government, before its eventual transfer to the Manx Museum and National Trust (Manx National Heritage) in 1986. The castle reopened in 1989 following a comprehensive repair programme and an extensively researched reinterpreta- tion exercise executed to a very high quality by the standards of the day. A little over 20 years later the need for a comprehensive review was identified, in the face of changing legislation, higher expectations by the visiting public, dated interpretation and a realisation that, while the social history of the castle was well understood, its architectural development was poorly recorded. It was agreed that the best way of achieving this was through the established process of conservation planning, which had not previously been applied in any structured way on the island. The timing of the decision coincided with the avail- ability of regeneration funding on the island for the first time. A conservation plan that reviewed development of the castle and its environs in relation to the ‘modern’ town was an exceptionally useful tool informing Manx National Heritage’s role as heritage advisor and consultee within the planning process. The conservation plan, comprehensively researched and written by Paul Drury of the Drury McPherson Partnership, was particularly helpful in offering a new perspective on the development of Castletown around the castle. It identified a probable early outer bailey, still visible within the current town plan, and highlighted the significance and likely survival of archaeology of the civil war outwork the ‘NewWorke’, known locally as the ‘Quarterdeck’. It emphasised the historic importance of the Quarterdeck to the setting on the edge of the Silverburn River, which offers views from the castle out across Castletown Bay towards the Langness peninsular and Derbyhaven, once important landing points, and looking back towards the castle from the entrance to the burn, which served arrivals by sea to the historic capital. Views towards the castle across the Quarterdeck had been recorded from more or less the same position for almost 400 years.The conservation plan recommended that MNH secured the integrity of the setting, which had changed little in more than 100 years. In the late 18th century a quayside was constructed over the shore of the burn against the north wall of the outer gatehouse of Castle Rushen and extended around the Quarterdeck. In the following few decades the formerly defensive structure acquired new structures atop and lost its crenelated parapet. In 2013 it was an unprepossessing area of car park and the remaining building on it, once the military library for the garrison, was visibly in poor condition.The building is registered (the Manx equivalent of listed), had recently become redundant as the benefits office for Castletown, and was being offered for sale by Isle of Man Government. The conservation management plan included a policy to physically enhance the parking area and limit parking to disabled users only, but the success of this would be limited without sympathetic re-use of the building.MNH concluded that it could effectively intervene to achieve the conservation plan policy only if it controlled the registered building as well. It entered into negotiations to acquire and redevelop it for beneficial use, and taking the opportunity to extend the town centre regeneration scheme by levering in monies from other funding sources. A preliminary structural appraisal of the building confirmed that there had been significant movement. Local architects practice Horncastle:Thomas was com- missioned to carry out feasibility designs for potential re-use, and a hard landscaping scheme for the parking A view of the ‘NewWorke’ by Daniel King, c1655 © British Library Board, ADD MS 27362, ff 10–22