Six-month conservation work begins at Castle Rushen's Derby House

Manx National Heritage has started a six-month programme of specialist repairs at Derby House, within Castle Rushen in Castletown, Energy FM reported.

The work is being carried out by local contractor Grenaby Limeworks and is due to finish in March 2027. It includes:

• repointing the building’s south elevation with lime mortar
• rebuilding a section of Georgian brick infill
• repairing the parapet gutter leadwork
• strengthening window lintels
• repairing the traditional timber windows

Scaffolding will go up within the castle walls for the work.

Inside Derby House, the staircase to the castle’s Registry Office will be repaired and its decorative finishes restored.

John-Paul Walker, historic buildings architect for Manx National Heritage, said the project would “address important repairs to Derby House” and help protect its historic character for future generations.

Castle Rushen closes to visitors for the winter on 1 November, but work at Derby House will carry on through the winter months. According to Energy FM, the project will be completed before the castle reopens for the spring on 23 March 2027.

Work on Derby House began in the 1580s, Energy FM reported, to give the Earl of Derby private accommodation within the castle during his visits to the island. In the 1640s, during the English Civil War, it was modernised and extended for James Stanley, the 7th Earl of Derby and Lord of Man, and his family.

After the Revestment in 1765, the building housed offices serving the law court in the castle gatehouse, as well as the island’s legal library and the Rolls Office. It was handed to the Isle of Man Government in 1929 and until recently served as a Registry Office.