Projects Updates:

17/06/2009 15:33: Corfe Castle saved thanks to timely restoration

The two-year project to restore Corfe Castle helped it to survive one of the coldest winters in the past 20 years.

The National Trust partly paid for the £840,000 work with a £250,000 grant from the SITA Trust, the largest of its kind to date.

The Dorset castle was surrounded by 50 miles (80km) of scaffolding while damaged stonework was repaired.
Doug Whyte, property manager for the National Trust on Purbeck, said: "It's no underestimation to say the work has saved Corfe Castle from closure.

"If this work hadn't been carried out in the last two years, the harsh winter we've just had would have caused further damage that would have forced us to close Corfe Castle to the public."

The castle was destroyed by the Parliamentarians during the English Civil War. Its ruins have remained under attack from the coastal weather but still attract 150,000 visitors each year. The mortar absorbed water in the wet weather which then expanded during frosts, causing the mortar to crumble and stone to fall.

A team of seven craftsmen and women repaired and relaid stones in the North Building, Tumbles, South West Gatehouse and Outer Gatehouse. New breathable joints will allow water to evaporate through the lime mortar rather than through the stonework, which caused erosion.

Marek Gordon, chairman of SITA Trust, which supports community and environmental projects, said: "The restoration of Corfe Castle is a fine example of how vital the Landfill Communities Fund is to the nation's heritage."